Run 4 Vision

Palm Beach to Manly

2012-02-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

It was another beautiful Sunday morning for our last training run on the trek. Getting up at 4.45am is not really what I am good at and after a short scooter ride with Denis to the train station I was ready to fall asleep again....
After 30 min on the train and bus, we caught up with Jo, Sam and Adam, who was kind enough to drive us 4 from Pymble all the way to Palm Beach for our start.

It is February but the morning was cool like in autumn, something which however changed very quickly once we started off and had to climb the first steep hill up from Palm Beach to get to Whale Beach.

As soon as we reached some covered area the humidity also became apparent and the going was relatively slow at beginning

After about 6 km into to run the tail started following the cliffs and the views we enjoyed were spectacular!

Glad we had time and cameras with us to take some great shots along the way. Don't think we will spend too much time during our race taking photos.

Some steep ups followed by some steeper downs....

At Avalon we hit our first beach and running in the sand changed our pace quite a lot....have not been running with backpack on the sand since Morocco - some great flashback of hard going across sand dunes and desert.

I am not the best with heights but Denis was even more chicken when Jo took this photo of us on the edge of the cliff looking back to Palm Beach and the Entrance of Pittwater.

Checking the map and planning the next crossing of a lagoon

At each beach where we had to cross water I decided to take off my shoes and socks and run the length of the beach barefoot - a quicker way to cover those nasty beaches....

The heat, getting up soo early in the morning and carrying the backpack eventually got to me and I slowed down more then I liked at the end.

With all the photo stops, getting shoes off and on at each beach and some quick breaks to put our heads under the shower to cool down along the way, we managed to reach Manly in just under 5 hours.

I was so happy to get into that refreshing water to cool down and loved the fish and chips lunch even more afterwards.

It was a long day from getting out of bed, running 5 hours and getting back to Maroubra just before the thunder storm but a worthwhile exercise as we now know all the little turns and twists of this trail and should no longer get lost on race day.....

18 days to go

Trivia Night next get together on Friday, 24 February in Randwick

Happy Feet

Missing Denis

2012-02-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

Denis had all the intention to catch up with us on Sunday but somehow he missed us along the track...here is the photo how it should have looked in Coogee after our 4 hours training run.

This Sunday we will all be running from Palm Beach down to Manly so we will have covered the whole trek in training and should know all the little tricky bits along the way.

Nothing new in regards of weather forecast - still overcast and rain...but that will make for a cooler running day.

Don't forget to book your seat or table for our all important trivia evening on 24th February in Randwick

http://www.run4vision.com/coastrek_trivia_night.php

Listen to your body

2012-02-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

After the last crappy weekend, when I had a hard time to get my feet off the ground and hated every km of the two runs, I decided to take a few days off to recover. I guess those 3 weeks skiing and eating Swiss chocolate caught up with me. So, after 3 days of doing nothing, a great massage and only a 1-hour jog on Thursday, I was ready to join the team for the weekend training – covering two sections of the Coastrek.

On Saturday morning I ran from Maroubra to the Opera House were I joined up with Jo, our new team member and Sam. Denis, the slacko, stayed in bed pretending to suffer from jet lag (he flew back from Perth the night before).

From left: the invisible Denis, Sam, me and Jo at Coogee Beach

We enjoyed a great run along the coast to Watsons Bay and then down to Coogee. The first 3 hours were blissfully cool, and only during the last 10km the sun came out – and with it the humidity. Denis tried to catch up with us, but missed us running into our direction. He called from Vaucluse when we just arrived in Bronte! After a great 5 hours run it was bliss to jump into the pool to cool down before enjoying a great breakfast with the whole team at Coogee Beach (Denis made it back in time for brekkie).

On Sunday we drove to the Opera House to park the scooters and toke the ferry to Manly. Denis and I started towards the Spit Bridge and Sam and a couple of her friends ran towards us from North Sydney. Halfway we met and continued all together back to the Harbour Bridge. It started to get very hot and I felt yesterday's long run in my legs. Sam's friends were setting a fast pace and kept chatting casually all the way back to North Sydney. I am glad that they did not sign up for the Coastrek, as they would have left us in their wake big time.

We found out later from Sam that one of them runs marathons in just over 3 hours, and the other is a champion in orienteering... no wonder I struggled to keep up with them. Now looking forward to another relaxing week before attempting the last (first) section of the trek that we'll be running from Palm Beach to Manly next Sunday.

Waiting for a new team member

2012-01-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

As you could see in the last photo of our Manly to City training run, Kate was missing. Sadly Kate got injured due to training (too hard) for our event. Having been used to shorter sessions running half-marathons, her body was not up to the increased distances we started to run before the festive season. To avoid more injury and give Kate time to recover for her main goal – the Berlin Marathon later in the year, we decided to look for a new member. Sam was lucky enough to literally run into some ultra runner a couple of weeks ago, and she convinced Jo that our 'crazy' adventure is worth joining. We're looking forward to meeting Jo next Saturday for our upcoming training run along the Coastrek, and we're happy to have a complete team again to take up the challenge ahead!

Long training weekend

2012-01-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today I took advantage of Australia Day and went out for a 2-hour run. I almost made it back home before the rain, but for 1km – then I got drenched.

Saturday I went out again, a bit late in the morning, and suffered in the heat and humidity, but still managed 20km in just over 2 hours.

Sunday Denis and I went along the last third of the trek, again running from Randwick through Centennial Park and down to Double Bay. This time we managed to find the turn-off along Old South Head Road and enjoyed the jog along the Hermitage Walk to Watson's Bay and then back to Bondi and Coogee. My legs were heavy and felt like lead, I had a hard time keeping up, and was very happy to jump into the pool at Denis's after 35km and long 4 hours... All in all a good week with 80+ kilometres. Only 4 weeks to go so, the next two weeks are important to build up a bit more endurance and fitness. Guess have to stop eating those Swiss chocolates now for a while.

Coastrek Training Part 2 - Manly to Opera House

2012-01-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

Today we ran the second 33km (which ended up to be 35km) from Manly across the Spit Bridge all the way to the Opera House.

Some stunning views along the way compensated for the many hundreds of stairs and ups and downs along the way.

Sam and Denis put on a blistering pace, which I with difficulty, and Andrew with ease, could follow, but after about 15km Katy and Trent unfortunately fell behind.

The long dinner and wine the night before had not helped – the longer and hotter the day became the slower I got, and at the end I had to walk more then I would have liked to.

It was good we did this part of the course, as we got off the track twice and had to backtrack. Something to avoid on race day for sure.

And the other thing is to check and time for the opening times of the Spit Bridge. Would be a tough wait if the bridge is open when you come around the corner, and you'd have to kill (or lose) about 10–15 minutes before you can continue your run!

Denis and Sam had enough of my navigation skills and are ready to head over a cliff ...

I was exhausted at the end, and have to make sure I take more gels and food with me at next run to avoid slowing down.

Denis and Sam having a rest – still 10km to go.

We arrived at the Opera House after 4.5 hours and with 35km under the belt.

Fun Night - Trivia Night for Coastrek 100km

2012-01-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Please join us for the Run 4 Vision Trivia Night on Friday 24 February from 18.30pm, in support of my 100 km Coastrek adventure raising funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Please bring your friends and family along for a great night of fun. You can find details about the event and info on how to book seats on the Run 4 Vision website.

If you are unable to join us for the night you can still help and make a difference to someone in need. Donate for our good cause on the Coastrek website.

I’m looking forward to see you soon in Randwick!

Happy Feet

Markus

PS: And if you are on Facebook make sure to ‘like’ my new Run 4 Vision page.

How much is too much

2012-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Wonder if those cheese fondues in the Swiss Alps were too much as it seems they have slowed me down a bit....I struggled big time to keep up with Denis on our Saturday morning training run around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Eventually I managed to crawl back home after 25km in 2 1/2 hours. Some work to be done quickly in the next couple of weeks to get back on track. Sam is running the Narrow Neck night run in the Blue Mountains tonight. I hope the weather is holding up. No fun to run in the rain and dark.
So, off to some pasta dinner - have another run tomorrow morning
Happy Feet

Winter Training in Switzerland – done

2012-01-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the 3 weeks in the snow went quick, and I am on my way home to sunshine and warmer temperatures. Have to say so that running in the cool winter weather was quite pleasant, and the few long runs over the hills and mountains around my home town St. Gallen were very nice – great, fresh air and views over the alps and all the way to Germany. But to be honest I am glad to put my gloves, beanie, long Skins and wind jacket away for my next run. I was good with food and drink and did not put on too much weight, so keeping up with the guys back in Sydney should not be too hard.

Counting the 7 days skiing in the alps plus the few 25+km runs I did here, I am happy to have kept up an almost uninterrupted training schedule over the last 3 weeks. The skiing was actually quite hard on my knees. Racing down those steep hills at 60km/hrs was lots of fun but also lots of pressure on the knees and legs.

Off to the airport now. I hope it is open again after yesterday's big snowstorm and wind. I have never seen a snowstorm with lightening and thunder – quite spooky.

Winter Times

2011-12-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

After a long 27-hours trip I finally arrived in Switzerland. Getting off the plane in a snow storm gave me a little idea of what will be ahead the next 3 weeks training wise. The first 3 days I simply tried not to freeze to death and stayed warm and mostly inside.

After spending a few days with friends in the French part of Switzerland I drove across the country to my home town St. Gallen. Driving on snow-covered road was a bit like driving on sand... I took my time and visited some friends on the way but arrived save 'home'.

The next day I was ready for a run, and I went with my dad his gym where I clocked up a few hours on the treadmill. My dad kept up for a while but at 84, I was impressed that he kept the speed up at almost same level as myself. I just hope I will be in same shape in another 35 years... After two days in the gym I was ready for an outdoor run, but after 70 minutes I had to turn home. Zero degrees and a biting wind was no fun.

I will give it another try tomorrow as the weather improved somehow, not temperature wise but at least the blue sky seems inviting enough.

Next week will be cross training high-altitude stuff -- skiing at 2000m+ above sea level has to be counted, no?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Xmas, and I wish you all save training and great races for 2012!

Coastrek Training Part 1

2011-12-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Team Run 4 Vision meet for the first time today on the steps of the Opera House for a great run along the coast of the Eastern Suburbs all the way to Coogee Beach. It was a brilliant morning, not too hot, but blue sky and sunshine. I am sure it was a good move to run this section as we got lost a few times of course and had to backtrack to find the right way. The view along the tracks over the harbor and city is stunning, and once we turned South from Watson's Bay we had the ocean on one and the harbor on the other side of us. A nice cool breeze made the last few km more comfortable, and we managed to take cover in a cafe in Coogee just before the nasty cold wind and rain started.

This was a first for Kate, having never run more then 21km in one go, she lead us to the beach in Coogee and after 31km and 3.5 hours still had a smile on her face. Well done, Kate. I think we just found us another ultra runner here...

Next stop Xmas and New Year. Going easy on the champagne and salmon and keeping up the running should make the trick to start 2012 in top shape and ready for the count down to 2 March, Palm Beach to Coogee Beach. Team Run 4 Vision is ready.

Team Run4Vision

2011-11-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

Great news today - we are a complete team. Found our 2nd female runner for the Coastrek 2012 and just have to wait for Kate to get back from her Europe trip to have our first team meeting. First 2 weeks November training looks good - done regularly 65km the last couple of weeks and will hit 80 this week. Can't wait to get to some new training ground in Inner West and North West Sydney and also start training on the actual trek.

Coastrek 2012

2011-10-31T00:03:00.000-07:00

Still looking for the 4th runner but the rest of team 'Run 4 Vision' is already in full training. Kate ran the Lucerne 1/2 Marathon yesterday and Denis and I are covering lot's of kilometers already. At the moment I do about 65 km a week with some long back to back runs on the weekend.
I also started the fundraising and you can now find our fundraising pages here. Thank you for supporting our efforts.
Happy Feet

13 October - World Sight Day

2011-10-12T20:44:00.001-07:00

Today the world is marking World Sight Day and The Fred Hollows Foundation joins individuals and organisations worldwide. Fred Hollows dedicated his life to working to restore sight to needlessly blind people, and The Foundation in his name is carry on his work.

I urge you to do your bit to help make Fred's vision of eliminating avoidable blindness a reality. Please share the fact below with family, friends and workmates – overcoming avoidable blindness is up to all of us.

3 out of 4 people who are blind don't need to be

90% of avoidable blindness occurs in developing countries

50% of avoidable blindness is due to cataract, a condition which can be overcome with a simple operation costing as little as $25

Thank you for helping making a difference we all can see!

Happy feet

New challenge - 100 km for 100 blind people

2011-10-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

This week I signed-up our team 'Run 4 Vision' for the Coastrek 2012.
A team of four (Kate, Denis, myself and a yet to be found fourth person) will run the 100 km from Palm Beach to Coogee Beach on the 2nd March 2012. In the lead-up we will raise money for The Fred Hollows Foundation and help needlessly blind people see again. Today I went out with Denis on our first training run. My first since the Marathon with Ben last month. Felt a bit sluggish and after 20km and 2 hours in the pouring rain we called it a day. A good start of what is going to be a long 5 months of fundraising and training. Poor Kate is currently traveling in Europe and yet to realise what is going to hit hear when she comes back. Good news is that she has signed up for a 1/2 marathon in Switzerland end of this month, so she will be fit and ready for our training regime, when coming back in November. Support us here --> Thank you for your much needed support
Happy feet
Markus

Done! All for Fred

2011-09-17T22:54:00.001-07:00

We only had 10 weeks all together but we, or better Ben, did it! He fullfilled his dream of finishing a Marathon in a brilliant time of 4.56hrs!

It was a hell of a day - hot, hot, hot and runners along the way dropped like flies as the heat radiating off the tarmac almost melted our shoes. Ben kept his head high, swearing his way through and plugged along all the way to the Opera House finish. The heat was overpowering and only constant cooling down with water and drinking regular got us there.

I can't repeat Ben's comments made on the last 3 km, but a constant reminder that we did this all for Fred and helping other people to see again kept him going almost in tears to the finish. He was able to walk the few meters to the 1st aid tent and then collapsed in need of cooling down.

Lots of ice all over him did the trick and 30 min later he was all smiles knowing that he proofed many people wrong - people who did not give him a chance to finish a marathon. Having to go through life without the advantage of seeing is a constant struggle, a struggle we only can imagine.

Training for a marathon and running the race is not an easy task for anybody but for Ben it was constant, constant struggle and fighting. He showed not only me but to all the people who saw him fighting his way to the finish, that if you dream, if you believe and if you keep going - great things can come through. Ben is my everyday hero today!
Happy Feet

Week 2

2011-08-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

We certainly cracked some good km's the last two weeks, averaging above 60km now and Ben's form is improving with every session. The gym is helping and so is his cross 'training' of blind cricket and 'goal ball' - a ball game played at the next Paralympic games in London 2012 and Ben has this dream of making the Australian selection by next year.....
First things first....we have another 2 busy weeks of training ahead of us to make sure we get as ready as we can get for Sunday, 18th Sept.
Ben and I also decided to support The Fred Hollows Foundation with our run and started a fundraising website - please help us to raise needed fund for the needlessly blind people in the world
Happy feet
Markus

Week 1 - post City 2 Surf

2011-08-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

I gave Ben a day to recover from his C2S run but Tuesday morning we were out there again doing our rounds in Centennial Park. We also got cards for the SFS gym which is very close from Ben's home, so he will be able to go on a bike or stepper during the day and build up his strength and endurance. This weekend we covered some sections of the Marathon Route and covered each day 18 km in 2 hours. I must have pushed Ben a bit too far today as he was completely exhausted at the end of it. But we both know that the hard work and suffering now will pay off in 4 weeks time and make the long 42 km a lot easier.
Next week will be a though one - training everyday with a big weekend ahead.
Happy Feet

City 2 Surf 2011 - done!

2011-08-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

Well, first test passed with flying colors! I can not remember a C2S were it rained prior the start. Ben and I managed to get to the start and kept as dry as possible wearing some old clothes and a rubbish bag over it. After meeting up with the other Achilles members prior the start preparing our shirts with the appropriate signs we managed to get ourselves into a pretty good starting position about 200m ahead of the other 'green' runners. With the 2nd gun at 8.10am we were able to start running down Williams Street straight away as the 'red' group already has disappeared in the Edgecliff Tunnel and the thousands of 'green' runners were behind us only slowly overtaking us half way down William Street. This was perfect start for us. The other smart decision was to carry our own water bottles so we never had to stop at the drinking tables and kept running non-stop from the city to the beach. A big thanks to Rael, who re-filled Ben's bottles from times to times! So Ben and I managed to get to Bondi in a stellar 86min. An improvement for Ben from last years time of over 1 min per km! Great job! So now it is back to gym and training runs to get ready for the big one - Sydney Marathon! It is Ben's dream to finish the real thing and helping raising needed funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation. I am confident that with some extra efforts in the next couple of weeks we will finish at the Opera House on Sunday, 18th September. Happy Feet and Congratulations to all C2F finisher!

It has been a while

2011-08-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks of settling back in - finding a new job and a new home, I am now back in full swing running with Ben (my blind running partner) training hard for the Sydney Marathon. After last years 1/2 marathon and a successful 100km Oxfam Trail Walk, Ben is keen to go the full monty! For sure we both have some work to do, as both of us have been a bit slack the last 6 months and we have now just a bit over 6 weeks to get ready. We currently do our rounds in the Centennial Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 7 and 8 plus have some longer runs on the weekend. Ben is also joining a gym so he can get on bike or treadmill and clock up some more miles. With the great weather we enjoy currently in Sydney we will of course spend as much time as possible outside along the beaches and coast.

First run back home

2011-06-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

After 2 days and 1200km of drive from Brisbane I was ready to move my legs. It was not a big one - 7 odd km but was great to jog around the bay and enjoy the views, water, sunshine. Good to be back.
Just realised that only 80 days to go before the Sydney Marathon, so better get cracking. So, hopefully I find soon a home to live and then I can get set for regular training again. Plan is for Ben and me to start serious training next week to be as well prepared as possible to achieve Ben's dream to finish his first full marathon in September.
Happy feet

Coming home

2011-05-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to returning home to Sydney and start my regular training runs with my running buddy Ben again. It has been too long and Brisbane was not too good for me training or running wise...
After 7 months in Brisbane, where Uli and I never found really our feet or felt at home we are moving back. I know that Ben is already looking forward to it and to make sure we get out and about during the cooler winter months we made the commitment to run the Sydney Marathon in September and start fundraising for The Fred Hollows Foundation as soon as possible. Looking forward to catching up with all of you back in Sydney soon
Happy Feet

No training - no prize

2011-03-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

After moving to Brisbane end of last year with the new job, flood and endless days of rain, it was hard to get regular training done. So as a result after 10 weeks I managed a dismal 200km or 20km a week. Pretty poor and the result was of course a shocking Twilight 1/2 marathon yesterday in Brisbane. Perfect conditions weather wise but miserable condition for me. Finished in my worst ever time of over 2 hours. I am just glad I did not have to guide anyone on this race as I probably would have been pulled along by a blind runner. So to get me on an even keel again the first thing I did last night is to sign up for the 50km Cook's Tour in May and the 100miles Glasshouse Mountains in September. That should get me back on track pretty soon. I will start running to and from work 2 - 3 times a week plus get the long runs in on the weekend. I hope by May I am back to my old form. Happy Feet

Running with 'new' eyes

2011-01-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

I consider myself very luck to have had the possibility to address my vision problem and finally got rid of my glasses. I had Laser Lasik done 10 days ago and it feels like new chapter of life. Should have done this years ago....
I can't wait to start my training again and run without prescription glasses. Go for a run, finish at the beach (no option in Brisbane) and jump into the waves without the problem of where to go with my glasses was always a dream. Can't wait to get back to Sydney and do the beach run......
Uli and I settling in fine in Brisbane, which finally puts on a much better face with blue sky, sunshine and a cooling breeze most of the days. I am allowed to kick start my training next week again and my first goal is the Brisbane Twilight Run in March.
That 1/2 marathon will give me a good indication where I stand and than we can plan the year for some major adventures.
Gold Coast Marathon, Simpson Desert, Glasshouse Mountains, Brisbane Oxfam and much more is on my wish list.
I will try to continue my work with visually impaired runners here in Brisbane and have started to get in touch with Vision Australia and Guide Dog.
Happy Feet
Markus

Still alive

2011-01-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry, has been a while - Happy New Year save training and accident free running to everyone in 2011.

Since we moved to Brisbane my running was very sporadic as the continuous rain was not encouraging to go out and run.

The recent flooding made it even harder to go out there, so will kick start my training later in the month and in the meantime try to help cleaning-up where I am needed and can help.

Save running and happy feet everyone

Adios Sydney, Hello BrisVegas

2010-11-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

A week ago I did my last run with my running friends along the beaches in Sydney in nice sunshine and sea breeze.
On Monday I started my new job in Brisbane and first thing in the morning is going for my first jog along the river. Apart from the humidity, I was surprised how hilly Brisbane is and those hills back to my hotel almost killed me at the end.
Did two more runs this week and look forward to one or two slow discovery jogs around the city during the weekend. This city seems to be very sporty and loves cycling and running for sure. Another big difference is that daylight starts at 4.30am! So by 5.30am I am up and running and still have time before going to work - love it.
Have to find some good tracks and find out about local races to get my fitness up again for next years season. Not sure if I can stick to the plan for 2011 but for sure will get in one or two bigger races in.
Happy feet
Markus

Last runs in Sydney

2010-10-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Italian red wine, French soft cheeses and German bread is probably not the best food for a runner but hey, it was great to enjoy some nice food for a while. After Ben and my 1/2 marathon last month I enjoyed a rest doing absolutely nothing for 3 weeks....nice!
Last Sunday, finally with some warm sunshine and blue sky, I went out for a 12km jog for 80 min and sure enough I could feel those cheeses and custard tarts from the last 3 weeks...it was pretty slow and heavy going.
Anyway, the big news is that in the next couple of weeks I will have to run for the last time my favorite runs here in Sydney, soon Uli and I will pack our bags and move North to sunny Queensland. Warm Brisbane is waiting and the city seems to have a great running culture which I certainly will join as soon as we have found a place to live. Looking forward to finding new routes and places to run and train as well as meeting new runners and hopefully new supporters for The Fred Hollows Foundation too.
Happy feet
Markus

Running free weekends

2010-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

I forgot how good those running free weekends can be....Italian Wine, French Soft Cheeses, German Bread and Swiss Chocolate...hmmmmm, how good is that! I just have to make sure I am not putting too much weight on before I put those running shoes on again.

Talking about running shoes - just cleaned-up my garage and got rid of some old shoes --> don't simply put them in the rubbish but help someone who loves to run and has no shoes. I passed them on to Viv at Shoes for Planet Earth

I met Viv at a pre-Comrades meeting in Sydney. Viv and her husband started a great project. I used to give my old running shoes to my South Africa friends every time they come to visit Sydney and they took them home for the poor locals. On my last visit in May I met their gardener who was still wearing my Asics runners from 2006!

Now it has even become easier to make some feet happy!

I plan to enjoy my break now from training and relax a bit - I know that in a few weeks time my itchy feet will be aching for new shoes and a run - until than, Happy Feet and Save Running

Markus

Finishing the year in style

2010-09-19T01:05:00.001-07:00

It was almost too early today at 4.45am and waiting for a taxi which never turn-up was not the ideal start for a race day. Luckily a friend borrowed me her car so I was able to drive into town to catch the train to the start in time.

Ben & Ellis were already waiting for me and we had 15 minutes to get ready...race number on front-check, name tag on back-check, blind runner tag on back-check, race chip on foot-check, so we were all good to go. Moving down the hill to the start block of our group we ran into Marathon Man and Susie - a few minutes to chat and before we knew the gun went off and....nothing happened.

It took us another 8 minutes to start moving and crossing the start line. The start is always challenging for Ben and me, as the crowed is still too packed together and everyone is too excited and rushing forward.

Thanks to the excellent help of Ellis, who moved the slower runners in front of us two out of our way, we had literally a free run all the way to the finish.

I decided to carry two water bottle with me during the race so we don't have to stop at the drink station for water and could run through - saved certainly a couple of minutes. The excellent weather conditions and the flatter course were no doubt reason too that Ben finished his 2nd marathon in a new personal best time of 2 hrs 08 min. Ben is already dreaming of the full marathon now....maybe next year?

Running over the bridge is always a great experience and having a helicopter hovering just above our heads add to all the excitement. We cleared the bridge rather quickly and moved on towards Darling Harbour but this course had many surprised in stall - quite a few sharp and unexpected 180 degress U-turns we had to maneuver - not easy when we had to look out for all those cat-eyes (ankle twisters), checking which way to go avoiding having faster runners trying to run between us. Needless to say we managed all those challenges in style and Ben kept up his great form and pace almost to the end - we both hated that last bit along the wharf on Hickson Road, and this time we had to do it out to Pyrmont and back to Opera House - 4 very long and booooring kilometers. Ellis and I kept encouraging Ben to find that extra strength and together with the help of cheering, clapping, drumming and music playing spectators he dug deep and found some extra power to spring onto the forecourt of the Opera House and finishing the race in just a bit over two hours! Well done, Ben - as always an inspiration to many out there today.

Ben and I would love to say thank you to all our supporter next Friday, 24th September when we have a drink and chat before watching Michael Douglas in 'Wall Street 2' at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick.

Please join us for a night out from 7.30pm and support two great charities - The Fred Hollows Foundation and The Achilles Running Club. Your $25 will get you a drink and movie ticket and will help needlessly blind people see again and support people with disabilities.

We hope to see as many as possible of you Friday night.

Thanks and happy feet
Markus

Never say never again...

2010-09-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

170 km and 27hrs50min - Never again!

But the 'Never say never again', right - even so at the moment I don't even feel I could run to the bus stop after last weekend's 100 miles in the beautiful Glasshouse Mountains north of Brisbane. As always the organisation and volunteers at the checkpoints where brilliant and I consider this still one of best Ultra Event in Australia!

Flying up on Friday I arrived to a wet and overcast Brisbane. Luckily the rain stopped and by the time we all met for the race brief and compulsory medical check the forecast looked good for weekend. Over a pasta dinner I caught up with some fellow runners but soon it was off to bed and getting ready for an early start.

4am alarm went off and after a big breakfast it was off to a 5.30am start for what will be my longest race ever. Having been up in the Glasshouse Mountains in 2007 finishing the 100km race I knew what was ahead of me for the first part of the race. It was great to catch up with some old Marathon des Sables competitors from 2008 at the start. Pretty soon after the gun went off we all settled in to our own race speed. I had an initial plan of finishing the race in about 26 hours.

The first 10km where a warm-up round for all of us (all means the 100km and 100miles runners). We left the school of Beerburrum in a single line and headed around the Beerburrum Mountain anti clock-wise. Everyone was still in a buoyant mood and lots of chatting was to be heard along the route....chatting which soon stopped when we finished the round trip and ended up at the bottom of Beerburrum Mountain...what a climb! Only 300 odd meters high but man, was it steep. I made a point of walking up and down as I remembered from last time that if you run down here you going to pay a hefty price later on.

Soon we arrived at the first big Checkpoint No 4, where our first drop bag was available to re-stocking with Energy Gels and Food. I had been running for 3 hours covering 27 km and I felt great. 7.5 km later I arrived at CP 5, where I met Cliff (MdS 2008 runner), he did not look too happy and was sitting there waiting for another MdS runner. At this stage I did not know that this would be the end of Cliff's 100 mile run. Always heartbreaking when you see somebody pulling out knowing about all the hard time and sacrifice of training going into a race like this. The next 16 km where cruel along a set of powerlines, up and down and hot being in the open sun at midday.

I had my two bottle of energy drink full and enough food to cover the distance in relative comfort. Arriving at CP8 on track, I checked my weight loss (- 500g) and after a good food break, I headed off for the first of two loops. The first 10 km where quite hard, lot's of up and downs again and it seemed a never ending loop...it took me a long 2 hours to finish this part but the second loop of 10.5km went much better and I was back at CP8 in 1.22hrs - so after more than 10 hours of running it was time for lunch, a nice ham, tomato and avocado sandwich with some potatoes and salt. I was already tired of my energy bars and gels but needed some food on the run to keep me going.

Daylight was running out and I realised that it will be along run in the dark back to the start at Beerburrum, where some warmer clothes are waiting. Arriving at CP 7 I started another short 4 km loop just in nick of time before I had to turn on my head torch. At this stage I was 12 hours on my feet and the body slowly but surly started to get tired.

On my way back to CP 6 disaster struck, getting to the intersection where the powerlines started, the road suddenly was full of 4W drives getting ready for some fun in the night, I looked for the markings on the road and saw a faint arrow pointing….up ?!? along the main road, which did not make sense to me as the map told us to go back were came up in the morning. Tired as I was I first followed the arrow up the main road but after about 1 km I have not seen any course markers, so I return to back to the intersection and went down the way where we came from in the morning (as on the map indicated), however soon I found myself lost in the dark forest and even more unsure where to go then 30 minutes ago. Back up again to the 4W drives and by than I was feed-up and ready to go home, especially as my back-up torch broke down just to make it worse.

One of the 4W drivers eventually came to my rescue and told me that he has seen other runners going up the main road, so off I went and soon I caught up with some slower runners, runners who where over 45 min behind me at CP7....I lost at least a 3/4 of an hour and once I arrived at CP6 I was exhausted, frustrated and ready to stop there and than. My rescue was my running friend Keith, who happened to be there too and he encourage me to keep going. I was cold, shivering, tired without a good torch and without Keith encouragement and a spare t’shirt I would not have finished this race.

We decided to run together the reminding 30km through the night back to the base. The section between CP 6 and CP5 was rough and rouged but thanks to Keith brilliant head light it was easy to find our way around all the water pools and narrow passages. By the time we arrived back at the base it was midnight - 18 hours on the road, dead tired, brain empty, legs jelly and knees wobbly. I was ready to curl up in my car and wait out the sunrise. Keith was again pushing me on. His lovely wife Carol, who finished her first 100km race in 17 hours, handed me her powerful torch and after a cup of soup and a NoDoz I felt like new born and ready to go...NOT.

Off to new territory, never been running more than 100 km nor longer than 16 hours non-stop. With Carol’s great torch it was easy to keep running, Keith and I swapped the lead regularly making our way towards CP9 knowing that only a few slower runners are behind us. We reached the bottom of Wild Horse Mt. 2 hours later and made our way up the steep 400m hill and back. Just when we got too comfortable at that CP drinking our warm soup and enjoy all this lovely homemade food, a headlight slowly came out of the woods behind us - Bill, the last man standing in the competition...good old Bill power walked the whole way and caught us, that was bad news and enough for me to pop another NoDoz and head off fast big time....the saying goes that if Bill overtakes you, you won't make it too the finish....10 years in a row Bill finished the 100 miles with-in the cut-off time of 30 hours and it was no different this year. With Bill breathing down our neck Keith and I ‘sprinted’ towards CP10, where we arrived after 23 hours on the road.

By then we both struggled big time and there where times where I would find myself shuffling along the path falling asleep and finding myself a few seconds later just having covered 10-15m of track without remembering how.....interesting stuff, the body can cope with lots of strange things which I found out for sure that long night on the road.

From CP 10 we had to do 2 loops of 9 km each, before heading back to base. Both loops were fairly flat and easy to navigate and after I saw Bills headlight again in the distant behind us, I felt a second wind and started to speed up a bit, so sadly I had to leave Keith behind hoping that unlike last year, this time he can keep Bill off his back and finish the race. By the time I started the second loop, I was catching some other runners who slowed down and this made me feel even stronger, especially since the dark gave way to the morning sun again and with a new day starting I was happy to find myself back at CP 10 strong and feeling good, knowing now, that I will make it to the finish in time.

At this stage however, 24 hours into the run, I just wanted to have this done and over with and without much delay at CP 9, I attacked the last 10 km of the race....it proved to be a very long last 10 km and looking at my watch, I feared unless I pushed hard, I may not finish under 28 hours - my new goal made up along the way.

I could see the first houses of Beerburrum and with 10 minutes to spare I sprinted rounded the last corner back into the school yard crossing the finish line after a long 27hrs 50min! I never felt so tired and exhausted but at the same time satisfied that I all the hard work in training over the last 4 months have paid off and I have made it into that elite group of true ultra runners in Australia.

I did not have to wait long for Keith crossing the finish with more than an hour to spare. Bill Thompson made it walking in 29 1/2 hours! The first across the line, well, that was 10 hours earlier, but nobody really cares, as for us everyone who was standing on that starting line 30 hours ago is a winner.

I made it safely back to the Airport hotel for a shower and a little snooze – setting 3 alarm clocks so I would not miss my flight back to Sydney…..

I just had a week to recover – some long sleeps and lot’s of good food…..before tomorrow morning I will be guiding Ben on his second 1/2 marathon at the Sydney Running Festival.

I look forward to the finish as it will be the end of 2010 racing. A well deserved rest for the body and mind before we look at new adventures for next year.

900 km - enough for 100 miles?

2010-09-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

Since I crossed the finish line with Francois in South Africa end of May and after my break in June I covered 900 km in training runs for the big one next weekend. I hope that it was enough to survived the 100 miles (165 km) of trail running in the Glasshouse Mountains north-west of Brisbane. I am looking forward to conquering this new distance and try to finish under 36 hours. Have prepared all me drop-bags and my race plan is done. In 2007, pre-paring for the Marathon des Sables, I have finished the 100 km a in 14 hours, so I am aware of the challenge ahead, well, at least for the first part. First 100 km start to the West from Beerburrum school on Saturday 5.30 am, I hope to be back there late evening and than it means to start all over again this time to the East for another 60 odd km in another loop returning to Beeruburrm school again. My goal is to get back to Beerburrum by Sunday morning for breakfast but than again one never knows what will happen out there and finishing is of course the main goal. There will be a few old comrades from the Sahara trip in 2008 at the start, will be good to have a little catch-up and chatting about the good old days....
So - a week of relaxing ahead, ice bath, massage and just little jogs and cycling the next few days and than Friday up to Brisbane. Come back for the full report next week.
Happy Feet

Greed is good....not

2010-08-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Remember Mr Gordon Gekko who once said that 'greed is good'?

Well your greed won't be good for our movie fundraiser night next month when Ben and I will be running our last race for this year, participating in the 1/2 marathon of the Sydney Running Festival.

To finish off our running season, we have organised another movie fundraiser event at the Ritz in Randwick on Friday, 24 September, staring at 7.30 pm. We would like to take that occasion and say thank you for all the support you gave us during the year. Please join us for a drink, find out how we training, and run together and watch a great movie.

Wall Street 2 - Money Never Sleeps. An Oliver Stone movie with Carey Mulligan, Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon and more. Join us at the Ritz Cinema Bar from 7.30 pm onwards for a chat and drinks. The movie starts at 9.15 pm. http://www.ritzcinema.com.au/

Please pre-purchase your tickets - the movie is going to be popular and seats may be limited for our night. Tickets are $30* per person and include entrance to the movie, a pre-movie drink at the Ritz Bar, and 5 raffle tickets.

Bank transfer:
HSBC, Australia / BSB: 342080 / Account: 126923412 / Name: Markus Schar / Ref: Run 4 Vision
Credit Card:
Follow direction on website for credit card payment on http://www.run4vision.com/support_fred.php

Ben and I hope to see as many of you and your friends on the night.

Remember, 'greed may be good' for Mr Gekko, but certainly not for our movie night next month. Your money will never sleep in the hands of two great charities (The Fred Hollows Foundation http://www.hollows.org.au/ and The Achilles Running Club http://www.achilles-sydney.org.au/). It will be put to good use, helping needlessly blind people and assisting those in need.

Thanks for your support!

Ben and Markus

New Challenge - New Frontier

2010-08-11T01:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while but believe me, I have not been resting but clocking up km after km to get ready for my next challenge - a race where I will reach new frontiers. The Glasshouse Mountains north-west of Brisbane are a beautiful recreational area for hiking and my next race will take me around, up and down those hills covering 100 miles (165 km) !
Check it out - have a look at the description and course maps. I had the 'pleasure' to run the 100 km race in preparation for Marathon des Sables in 2008. A run which I finished in 14 hours. So in 4 weeks and if all goes according plan and preparation I am hoping to a) finish the run and b) do it in 25 hours. It will be a long day and night and this run will push me to the limit of endurance and perseverance, but knowing that me covering that staggering distance non-stop will help needlessly blind people see again makes it all worthwhile - so please do not forget The Fred Hollows Foundation. Support their projects and keep Fred Hollows Vision alive. 10 more years to eliminate unnecessary blindness.

Photo Story - Comrades 2010

2010-07-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

A few photos from our journey together

Signing in at Expo / The great FHFSA team

Radio South Africa Interview / Tasting some local wine

Freezing at start / Meeting up with our supporter

Mary with us runners / Great support along the route

On the road to Durban

On the Freeway near Durban / In the stadium - 50 m to go!

Crossing in 11 hrs 46 min and 32 sec

Cheers! Well done and we will be back - because we can!

Run for Eyes – The Comrades 2010

2010-07-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been asked why I would travel all the way around the globe to run for almost 90 km. With this report I try to explain why, it is a bit long, so you may want to get a cup of café or a glass of wine before you start reading

The Comrades Marathon 1921 - 2010

Little could dreamer Vic Chapman have visualized, when he founded the Comrades Marathon in1921 with 34 runners at the start, that 85 years later over 23’000 aspiring athletes would sign up for what is arguable the ultimate human race on this planet.

This ultra marathon was instituted by the comrades of World War I. Vic Chapman felt that if infantrymen could get used to forced marches over big distances trained athletes would have little difficulty in running the 89 km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

In the early days the average number of entries would be 45 runners and this number only slowly increased to a couple of hundred athletes in the 60’s and 70’s. Thanks to cheaper airfares in the last 20 years did the race become the international event it is today.

About 350 000 athletes have successfully run Comrades over the years, of these less than 100 have won and less than 1000 have achieved Gold (top 10) and about 8% of the field achieve silver (sub 7:30). At the same time, in the 2009 down run, about 20% of the starters did not make the 12 hour cut-off.

So, for most of us, Comrades is not a race, it is an adventure of the mind, body and spirit. It is about the smells, sights, sounds, thoughts, finding yourself, cursing yourself and above all enduring memories.

Daily long haul jets leave from all over the world for non-stop flights to South Africa and for 51 weeks a year the demographic of the passengers is similar; a mix of business travellers, tourist and ex-pats returning home. But for one week a year, another group appear within the passenger lists and their numbers peak by Wednesday and Thursday of that week but by Saturday they all but gone.

These new people wear sometimes facemasks, even so they are not sick, those people get out of their seats more often and walk up and down the aisles of the plane. Hesitating here and there at the exit doors peering out the window, even so there is nothing to see at 10’000 m over the Ocean. When you look closely you can see that they applying pressure to the door and their legs are braced against the floor – they are stretching. Most of them wear near new and expensive running shoes, carry a bottle of sports drink and wear shirts proclaiming ‘I ran the Melbourne Marathon’ or similar marathon races from around the world.

This is the week before The Comrades Marathon in South Africa. These are the international Comrades runners and some of them actually are sick – they have ‘Comrades Fever”. Just as the Jewish are drawn by the Wailing Wall, the Catholics to Rome and the followers of Islam to Mecca; runners are drawn to KwaZulu-Natal for The Comrades!

This year I was one of them, for the second time in my life.

This year coincides with the 85^th anniversary of the race and together with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa a record number of athletes travelled to Pietermaritzburg. With the exception of a few who vie for an outright win, over 99% of the runners are just ordinary people trying to do something extraordinary!

This is not the longest, nor the toughest, but it is certainly the cruellest race in the world – Comrades takes no prisoners.

This year’s ‘down’ course (from Pietermaritzburg to Durban) is divided into 40% up and 60% down with a total climb of 1400m and fall of 2000m. This degree of difficulty is further increased by enforced cut-offs. If you don’t reach those predetermined locations in time you are not allowed to continue. To make sure you don’t continue, the road is blocked by a human barricade with men who would not look out of place in a Wallaby scrum. They then remove your race number so you cannot proceed.

At the finish – in the Cricket Stadium of Durban at around 5.15pm over 30’000 spectators, families, friends and finishers are wondering where missing friends are, if they are still out on the course. The clock is ticking relentlessly towards 12 hours and the tension builds. In the last hour of the race over 10’000 runners will cross the finish line, some will run, some will walk and some will crawl but many won’t beat the clock. At 11 hours 58 minutes into the race all eyes in the stadium are focused on the finish line because it takes the tail enders about 2 minutes to run from the entrance to the stadium to the finish line and now, those out on the streets in Durban won’t make the final countdown.

At 11.59.45 the Chairman of the Comrades Association takes up his position with his back to the finishing runners, gun in hand. At precisely 12 hours after the cock crowed that morning in Pietermaritzburg he fires a solitary shot into the air and instantly the ‘front row of the Springbok Rugby team’ blocks the finish line. It is over, no more medals, no more finishers this year. This single shot not only echoes around the stadium and down the streets of Durban but via television across South Africa and via internet around the world.

Runners trapped on the wrong side of the finish line are devastated. They sit down and ponder their situation, some cry. For all of them it is at least 6 months of hard training and long miles for no Comrades medal. To some it is a lifetime dream of finishing the race shattered. It will take weeks, months or years for some to cope and to virtually all, the only way to truly erase this disappointment, is to return in the future and beat that gun.

Pre-Race

In 2003 I travelled the first time to South Africa to participate in, what I thought was the ultimate race I will ever run in. As we all know by now I found bigger and crazier events out there for me to enjoy. However the Comrades always stayed as my favourite and best running event ever. And I was looking forward to return one day.

The atmosphere, the 1’000s of spectators along the 90 km and the fact that the whole of South Africa is watching this race live on TV make this a unique event for any runner and I believe that every fit and keen South African runner will try to qualify and finish one Comrades in his/her life time, if they get a chance.

Uli and I decided a couple of years ago that we would go to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa and as the Comrades Marathon was held only 2 weeks prior the World Cup I saw this as a unique opportunity to help The Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF) in a more direct way.

It is estimated that of the 225,000 blind people in South Africa, 66 percent - or 160,000 are needlessly blind with cataract. The Eastern Cape Province, where FHF South Africa work is concentrated, is the poorest province in the country. In 2008 the results of a survey estimated that over 38,000 people in the Province were blind. Of these, over 30,000 had an avoidable form of blindness, mainly caused by cataract. The majority of these people have very limited or no access to eye care services. One of the greatest challenges FHFSA faces in the Eastern Cape Province is the tremendous shortage of trained eye care professionals at all levels of the health care system. Working with the Eastern Cape Ministry of Health and other partner organizations, FHFSA aim is to turn this situation around and restore sight to the tens of thousands of South Africans who remain distant and isolated due to blindness.

I contacted the FHF office in Sydney and asked if they know of a visually impaired athlete who would like to finish the Comrades in 2010 and through their South African office I got in contact with Francois Jacobs. Francois was the first blind Ironman in South Africa, finishing the race in 2008. He repeated this task last year and he was looking for a guide to help him fulfilling a life long dream of running the Comrades. Like for everyone, training for such an event is time consuming and in addition Francois challenge was also to find regular running partners/guides who were able to do long hours of running with him.

A nail biting finish at the 50km Loskop Ultra Marathon in April, where Francois finish 8 sec under the 6 hours cut-off time, meant that he is now officially qualified for the Comrades. That hard run made Francois realise that maybe he just has bitten off a piece too big to chew, when he signing up for Comrades. 89km is a long, very long run to finish under 12 hours. In the last few weeks prior the race, he made sure to cover many more km to get as ready as possible.

Myself in the meantime was lucky and honoured to be able to train here in Sydney with visually impaired runner and Australian Cricket player Ben Philips. Starting in February we trained 3 times a week and beginning of May, we I finished Ben’s challenge with bravura by conquering his first Sydney Half Marathon in just over 2 hours.

24 hours after leaving Sydney, Uli and I arrived exhausted in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. We stayed in a beautiful lodge just outside of town a few minutes from the start line of the Comrades. After a day of relaxing, we had to drive back to Durban Airport to pick-up and meet Francois for the first time. I was exited to finally meet my running buddy but also a bit nervous wondering if I am really ready to do this and take on the responsibility to lead Francois to the finish line in Durban. We got on right away and started swapping running stories in the car whiles Uli was driving us to the Durban Race Expo, where we are to meet up with the Fred Hollows people and register for the race.

Little did we know that the FHFSA prepared our arrival and did a great job of advertising our upcoming race together by printing posters, t-shirts and flyers with Francois and my photo on it, but also invited media to their booth to interview us.

After giving radio interviews and posing for photos we both were a overwhelmed by it all and ready to go ‘home’ to our hotel only to be told that Francois was one of the 5 candidates of this years ‘Hero of Runner’ award by the South African Runners World magazine

So ‘poor’ Francois had to head off to the awards dinner and party instead of joining us for a relaxing evening at the lodge. Mary from the Fred Hollows Foundation volunteered to accompany Francois to the dinner, where they rubbed shoulders with running celebrities such as Bruce Fordyce and other Comrades legends.

We caught up again the next morning (the day before the race) for a big carbo loading lunch and took that afternoon to discuss our strategy for the race. Doug, from Achilles Club Sydney joined us to spend the night at our lodge to avoid getting up at 2 pm tomorrow and drive from Durban to the start.

Media Links:

http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?Type=NI&objectid=3924

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=110003

The Plan:

Rule 1 - any race of this magnitude needs a race plan and discipline to follow it, if one wants to be successful in finishing the challenge. Our plan was to finish within the 12 hours cut-off time. For a while Francois was playing with the thought of getting a Bronze medal (sub 11 hrs) however realised that finishing is the main task. The plan was to walk the uphills and steep down hills and run the rest. I was carrying a drink belt with two 600ml bottles and energy gels for the whole race, this approach allowed us to give most drink stations a miss and save us heaps of time. The over 40 drinks stations along the road caused congestions on a regular basis and a stop at every station could quickly result in a time ‘loss’ of 40 minutes or more, time we certainly did not have.

The Race

After a hot shower I got dressed and had my last carbo breakfast in the room. Doug and Francois went for breakfast but I need my own food prior a race. That’s rule 2 - never change what worked in the past prior (and during) a big race. Always eat what you used to, always run in well worn gear and never try new thing out during a race – it won’t work and it will cost you.

Uli was kind enough to drive us down to the start – 0500 am and 5 degrees! Brrrrrr…..

Around 18,000 people were all crammed into the start area trying to stay warm and keep the nerves in check. Uli had to stay outside and we said farewell and see you at the finish.

By 0520, we got ready for the crowd to sing the in-official South African sporting anthem, Shosholoza. An old miners song that is inspiring, emotional and heartfelt. Its lyrics are quite simple and loosely translate to; the train is gathering speed and steaming towards South Africa. And when 18,000 Africans sing it together it is like a church choir and the emotions really start to churn. As we all sang along, the tears welled in our eyes and the lump developed in our throat – this was it.

I stared at the clock on the side of the Pietermaritzburg town hall. This was the moment to reflect on everything all of us standing here have done leading up to the race. All the sacrifice, months of blood, sweat and tears, hundreds of kilometres running since January, months of commitment - early mornings, late nights and family inconvenience. Months of running shoes, washing smelly training gear (thank you Uli, I love you), countless energy gels and bottles of power drinks. Months of thinking about this very moment, every single day.

After singing of the South African anthem the countdown started and then there it was, the famous cry of the cock and the gun went off. The longest 12 hours if running started, from now on the only thing that matters was to reach Durban before 17.30!

We could see the start line from where we were, we could see the masses ahead of us moving but it still took us 10 minutes of shuffle to get to the actual start and timing mats. Another 10 minutes we did not really have to spare, were already lost – so 11 hours 50 min to finish.

Another unique part of the Comrades is the fact that runners are getting advised of how many km to go to Durban along the route and not as usual of how many km one has done.

So there it was – the sign ‘89km to go’, it was hardly visible in the dark and through the many runners crowding the street and the spectators along the side of the road. But we did not need to see it - we knew, we feared and we looked forward to the other 88 km coming up.

The first few km we used to get comfortable with each others, getting into a running rhythm and for Francois to probably get used to my SwissEnglish commands. For me new was to run with a short rope between us. With Ben in Sydney I was lucky that Ben could relay on my vocal commands and we both could run freely. Francois was not used to that and preferred the tether. This made it of course a bit harder when we wanted to overtake slower runners or had to stop for drinks, on the other hand it gave me the chance to sometimes put some pressure on Francois and pull him a bit harder to make up for lost time when necessary.

It took about 10 km before the masses started to stretch out a bit and we had some space around us to run. Normally in a race like this I would fail to notice anything but the 10 metre stretch of bitumen in front of me, this time apart of focusing on Francois, I had time to enjoyed the scenery, supporters and fellow runners for most of the race as the speed was almost 1 1/2 min per km slower than my usual race speed.

As we started at the very end of the roughly 18’000 runners, I wanted to make sure that we made up the lost 10 min from the start and get somehow into line with my race plan, We had to work hard the first few hours to overtake 100’s of other runners. Not an easy task for a single runner and a nightmare for us two as the road got narrower once outside of Pietermaritzburg and the masses around us never loosed up wide enough to have more than 3 – 5 meters of free space ahead of us.

It took me a while to realise that weaving left and right all the time to overtake people was not a nice feeling for Francois and I decided to settle down to a slower pace as soon as I was sure that we are on track with our time. After about 2 hours of running the sun finally made her appearance on the horizon and we started taking off all the extra t-shirts and plastic bags we had on us to cover against the freezing cold. These extra clothing were quickly taken by waiting children along the road. With the sun out we suddenly could see more of the country side and the view over the valley and ahead of us was incredible – rolling hills after hills on both sides and a mass of people, looking more like a monstrous snake, moving slowly forward towards the Ocean and Durban.

I gave Uli a map of our race route which showed a few points where spectators, driving along the highway to Durban, could stop and meet up with the marathon. It was more for her to see the race and get a feel of it, than actually meet up with us. However lucky for all of us and thanks to the time I had to look around, I picked her and two Fred Hollows staff out of the 1’000s of spectators along the road and we stopped for a short chat and a few photos.

It was a great feeling to meet them on the road and it gave both of us a real boost. I remembered the route well from 2003 and knew that soon we would reach the highest point of the race and than it was supposed to be all downhill to Durban…not!

This race is known for its 5 major hills and each of them is a ‘killer’ – each of these up-hills slowed us down to walking speed and we had to make sure we picked up enough speed on the other side to make up for any lost time.

Since it is true that this race does not really start until around 60 km, we had to make sure we did not overdue it in the early stage and so use the first 30 – 40km to ‘pass the time’. I made sure that Francois started early with taking the energy gels and salt tablets and we kept up a good rhythm and stopped only at every 5^th or 6^th drinking station to fill up my two bottles.

Soon enough the first bad patch in the race will come for Francois, since he got closer with every step to new territory, having never ran more than 50 km in his life.

The saying goes that the first 50 km of the race is ran with your feet, the next 20 km with your head and the last 20 km with your heart.

We were lucky enough to see once more Uli along the road but after that I knew we were on our own now till Durban, as the road was wearing off away from the highway into those hills we all treaded so much. The route started making its way through the Valley of a 1000 Hills. I wanted to get us as soon as possible ‘into the second half’ of the race – being on the way home. However it took forever to ‘crawl’ up those steep hills of Inchanga and down the other sides before finally we could first hear and than I could see the half way mark down in the valley passing Drummond. We passed the ‘half way’ sign with about 20 minutes to spare and I have to admit I got a bit worried, as I knew the worst part of this race is still ahead of us.

Francois started feeling the distance and the pain started to slow him down almost to the point where we had to walk even the flat pits of the race. Being blind he was of course unable to see that there were many runners much worse off than him – people suffering cramps, sitting beside the road vomiting, walking stiffly beside us, limping up those hills It was hard to describe this to him to make him feel better and it was time to get some help from ‘Doctor Markus’. I carried not only the necessary salt and hydration tablets with me, but some proven ‘happy’ pills from my run through the desert of Morocco, they can make the pain disappear (for a while at least) and keep you going when it gets tough! The plan was working and when we reached km 59 and Winston Park cut-off, we had made up great time and were back on track and within our plan.

Everyone who had done the ‘down run’ knows that with 25 km to go the way you handle Field’s Hill will define your race. Everyone says that running down a hill of such length (about 3 km) and of such a gradient (it’s straight down), will tear apart an already weary and battered body. It does exactly that. 7 years ago this was the point where I was in tears and wanted to stop and go home, your legs start to tighten up and the feet reeling in pain with every step. Runners line the side of the road sitting on the pathways holding their heads and wondering why they can not get up again, for many this hill will be the end of their Comrades dreams.

Lot’s of people walk the length of the hill; some walk down backwards to ease the pain.

it seems wise to shorten the stride and shuffle down, putting as little stress on the body as possible. Here was the time for us to put those leg muscle of an Ironman like Francois to good use and we started to stride out down the hill and try and pick up time. The road was wider here and we started to overtake many runners we last saw 40 km ago when they over took us. It was tough on Francois and even I felt my knees and legs the first time, but luckily I still had some of those pills.

We both were glad to reach the bottom of the hill and I started looking for that ‘20 km to go’ sign, a sign which had become a significant mental milestone for both of us.

The flat road through Pinetown after Field’s Hill is welcoming for a while and gives the legs a little respite. We passed through that ’20 km to go’ sign and this lifted everyone’s spirits – less than a 1/2 marathon to go and with more than 30 min in the bank (ahead of cut-off) Durban and the finish line looked for the first time a real possibility.

Remember the saying – the last 20 km became now a battle with the mind. Our bodies had long given up but our mind was pushing us beyond our previous limits. Now was the time to think about all those hard training days, to think about all the sacrifice in the last 6 months and to think about all our supporters, who are ‘watching’ us on-line and waiting in Durban for us. It was the time to remember why we are out here doing this.

We were running for eyes! Running to help people who are needlessly blind and are waiting for help to see again. Running for Fred.

No sooner our legs found some rhythm again along the flats we were confronted with another famous heartbreaker - Cowies Hill.

Cowies Hill not only was normally the decider for the guys running for the win, but it became the mountain of truth for all of us amateurs. At the bottom of the hill we passed over another timing mat. We knew that each time we passed over one of these mats a SMS would be sent to Uli in Durban, plus a signal would appear on the computers of all of those following us on-line around the globe. Knowing that so many people were watching our progress in real time on the other side of the world was a strong incentive to keep going and I pushed Francois to find extra energy to conquer that last big hill.

Nobody around us is running any longer – everyone just walks and shuffles up Cowies. Everyone is within his or her own thoughts and fights off all kind of demons who want us to stop and sit down. We needed to keep going, there are people waiting for us in Durban!

From now onwards into Durban the race kind of jumps on and off the freeways into Durban and the crowds get thicker. There is nothing like the crowd support bringing you ‘home’.

People traditionally line the roads and have barbecues (or Braai’s, as they are known in South Africa). They have set up their tents, lounge suites or chairs on the side of the road and support the runners from early morning till the last runners passed them. At some points of the race the crowds converged along the road (like you see in the Tour De France) leaving us runners only a narrow gap to get through – unbelievable.

The last 10 km are excruciating; it truly is. The kilometre marks just seemed to take forever but psychologically I was trilled to tell Francois that we are now down to single figures (less than 10 km to go). With 7 km to go we passed the last cut-off point 27 min ahead of time, so we had just over an hour to finish, still a big task since our average speed was now over 7min/km. It can take some people over an hour and a half to travel this last section of the course, it is not over till the fat lady sings.

By now a small rise of the road felt like a mountain for Francois, a short down hills become an agonizing descent. I was very conscious of our increasingly tight legs and the potential for cramp, so more salt tablets and fluid to minimize the risk.

We were now on the fringe of the city and running down the freeway into Durban. As we came over the last bridge down into the poorer part of town, I saw through the city’s buildings the tall light masts of the Kingsmead stadium – we made it!

I knew that we will finish now in time and decided to walk the last two kilometre, to take in the atmosphere and enjoy the screaming crowds along the street, many blowing their Vuvuzelas and ‘bringing us home’.

500 metres to go, around the corner and here was the stadium. Turning into the stadium the noise, the colour, the music, and the emotion - this was the time to reflect and come to terms with what we both just have accomplished.

I saw Uli, the Fred Hollows staff and many of my Australian fellow runners along the side of the finish line. We stopped for a few photos and than I let go of the tether and let Francois crossing the finish line on his own - 11 hours 46 minutes and 32 seconds after we left Pietermaritzburg that same morning. I think he has not realize yet that he just finished the greatest ultra marathon in the world on his own.

Interestingly our finish time was exactly to the seconds 2 hours slower than my time in 2003 when I finished the race on my own.

The stadium looked like a war zone, people everywhere lying around, stretching their sore legs, laughing, crying, and proudly showing off their medals. We made our way through this mayhem and join the other Aussies in the International area. Exhausted as we were we did not take advantage of the food they served us there but the cold beer went down a treat!

13 minutes after we crossed the line that cruel moment of truth came, when the chairman of the race counted down the seconds and on the dot at 17.30 the gun went off and the finish line got closed off.

Of the 16’301 who started in Pietermaritzburg, 14’596 made it in time but sadly for many still running into the stadium it was too late, but we all know they will be back to beat that gun next year.

The emotion, the more than 12 hours on our feet, the pain killers mixed with the beer finally got to Francois and we had to make our way to the hotel for a well deserved hot shower and ice bath.

I asked the concierge to organise 6 bags of ice for us and true to his word within 10 min we received a huge rubbish bag full of ice (from the hotel bar downstairs) to relax our sore legs in. Francois was out cold within minutes and was unable to join us for dinner and celebration but I am sure he was celebrating his huge achievement in his dream while Uli and I enjoyed a famous South African steak with mash and a good bottle of wine with our Fred Hollows friends.

Next morning I went for a short jog along the beach to loosen up my tight legs a bit. Francois joined us for breakfast and even so we both had some difficulty going up and down steps, we both looked far better than many fellow runners we saw today.

I am happy to learn that Francois is already thinking about next year’s up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg – I know he will be back with vengeance and finish next years run in a much better time than yesterday. Many fellow runners from his running club are aware of Francois goals now and he should have no problem to find a fit and willing guide to conquer the Comrades and that final gun without problem.

I hope that our effort has helped the Fred Hollows Foundation in South Africa to increase awareness of their big task at hand and that their great job at the runner expo the last couple of days has brought in some much needed donations to help the many needlessly blind South African. Sadly Uli and I did not have time to take the Foundation up on their invitation to visit their offices and the Sabona Eye Centre this time but I look forward to come back on day and attempt the apparently easier up run from Durban back to Pietermaritzburg and visit East London.

I would like to thank Francois for his trust to let him guide on this race, thanks also to the staff of The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa – Mary, Belinda, Zanele, Tembakazi and Peter, who did a great job advertising our venture at the Expo in Durban. Thanks to Uli, without her I would not be able to do all this and of course a big thank you to all the generous supporters, whose donation for Fred Hollows are the reason that keeps me going.

Thank you

Markus

Africa here we come (again)

2010-05-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

In less than a week and after 1'300 km of training, Uli and I are off to South Africa to run the best Ultra Marathon on the planet with my blind running partner Francois Jacobs from Centurion, South Africa.

First of all I like to thank to all of you who generously supported our efforts by donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation. I transfered over $5'000 to the Foundation, over 200 people will be able to see again, thank you!

The Comrades Marathon is the World’s oldest and largest Ultra marathon, run over a distance of 89 km (56 miles) between Pietermaritzburg (capital of Kwazulu – Natal Provence) and the coastal city of Durban, South Africa (www.comrades.com). The direction of the race alternates each year between the “up run” starting from Durban and the “down run” starting from Pietermaritzburg.

This year 2010 is a “down run”. 24’000 runners will make their way over a strenuous course which encapsulates the “Big Five”, the five hills to be traversed on the run. There is a 12 hour time limit to cover the 89 km’s. The “down run” is (sadly) known to be the tougher of the two direction due to the damage done to toes, feet, quads and knees as a result of the unavoidable action of having to running down hill for extended periods of time www.comrades.com/images/routeprofilemap.jpg

This will be the first time Francois ever ran more than 50 km or me guiding a blind runner over such a distance, together it will be quite a challenge to finish this race in time. As you know we dedicate our running to the Fred Hollows Foundation, which helps needlessly blind people to see again.

You can be part of our race by following the live link on the Comrades website which should show you our progress. My race number is 42197 and Francois is 58567. The start of the race is Sunday, 30 May at 1.30pm AEST and it will last a good 11 to 12 hours for the two of us.

Don’t forget to come back and check my blog - I am sure I will have time to update these pages while sipping a cocktail during my cruise along the Zambezi River after the race

Happy feet

Markus

Ben

2010-05-17T03:56:00.001-07:00

Finally, after 8 weeks of hard training, last Sunday was the big day for Ben Philips. When I started running with Ben, he was able to run one slow round in Centennial Park before being out of breath. Yesterday he finished his first 1/2 marathon in a stellar 131 min - prove again that hard work and determination pays off. Well done Ben!

It was a fresh but beautiful morning when we both lined up at the start next to St. Mary's Cathedral. Ben was understandably nervous, not sure if he is up to the distance and wondering if all the training was enough.
We waited a few minutes after the gun when off, to get a few of the 10'000 runners out of our way. Once we started running we soon found our pace and thanks to the help of Doug and Ellis, who helped us clearing the way in front of us, we started overtaking slower runners.
Ben started to enjoy the run and got more and more confident to a point were I had to slow him down a bit, knowing that the hard part is yet to come.

We finished the first of two rounds in 66 min, well under the 75 min cut-off time, a time which was a daunting task to run a few weeks ago.

During the last half of the second round, especially going up Hunter Street a second time, the hard going got tougher and it was the first time Ben had to walk a few meters - getting his breath back. But true to the saying, when it gets hard the tough get going, Ben headed into the last few km with his head down, struggling around Maquarie's chair, fighting hard to keep on his legs with every step, but never giving up.

The last 1000 meters were helped by the great support of all the spectators and in a final sprint we crossed that finish, exhilarated and happy.

I am very privileged to have been able to share this journey with Ben, it not only helped preparing me for the big race in 2 weeks time when I will be running 89 km with blind Francois but more importantly it started a friend ship which I hope will bring us many more days of fun and races to run.

Congratulations Ben to a job well done!

Happy feet and see you soon in South Africa
Markus

Good weekend for running

2010-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Not only myself in Canberra enjoyed a perfect race day resulting in a new PB but also my friend Francois in South Africa had a great race thanks to his guide Co van den Raad from the Irene Club running the Wally Hayward Marathon in a new PB, beating his old time by 11 minutes!
Well done, guys and thank Co for your help guiding Francois. The Wally Hayward Marathon is one of the bigger races in South Africa and well positioned for that last test race before the Comrades end of the month

Myself, Trent (Marathon Man) and Doug went down to Canberra to have our last big race test before heading to South Africa. The 50 km Ultra is an ideal race with great support and crew along the way. A cold, 3 degrees
awaited us at the start and light fog hovered over the lake when we started at 7am. Doug and I started at the end of the field and within 3 km I found my race rhythm and started heading off - a slow 57min for the first 10km around all the public buildings and capital hill before we head off over the bridge to the city. Slowly my fingers warmed up and I started to feel more comfortable. I ran with a new bum bag / bottle holder to test as I feel I need to have some back up for The Comrades, as those races notoriously run out of drinks before the last, slower runners pass through. As the course is an out and back course and 2 loops one always gets a good idea where one is in the race and I could see Marathon Man, who races of like stung by a bee, slowing down. I figured I will get him on the 2nd loop and sure enough at km 25 I overtook him. I felt good all the way to km 40 when the first time I started struggling a bit and I was glad the route came back into the leave area with big trees give much needed shade as the sun now became hot.

Running the first time into the Manuka Oval finishing the Marathon in 3.48hrs I had to continue around the oval and out again to add the missing 8km for the ultra distance. That was the hardest, leaving the finish again running out on a bike path full of walkers, strollers and cyclist - not too comfortable and also badly marked last stretch of the race. Nevertheless I return on my second wind and sprinted into the Oval a second time overtaking 2 more competitors on the last 20m to finish in a new PB of 4hrs33min for 50 km.

South Africa and the 89km of The Comrades do not look that bad anymore now......not!

Happy feet

ANZAC Training day

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Like true troopers Marathon Man, Michael and myself found ourselves at 6am standing in the dark and rain at the entrance of Ku-ring-gai National Park. Kuringai Comrades Training Route
Find more Runs in Terrey Hills, Australia
Our aim was to run for a good 6 - 7 hrs in preparation of The Comrades in 4 weeks time and Michael will do the 100km Wilderness Team Trail next weekend.
The first 10 km where a nice downhill to Akuna Bay before heading up again to the main route out to West Head. Rain was easing and by 9 am we had covered a good 25 km and started to dry out.
Michael and I started to get a bit too fast for Trent and we left him behind running out to the West Head, knowing that we will see him on the way back again, which we did 30 km into the run. On the way out we made great progress and soon Michael and I found ourselves at the turn off to Church Point and down to Pittwater. Michael for the first time ran more then 50km in 6 hrs and the last bit up Mona Vale Road back to Terrey Hills was a killer - not only because of the hills but also because the road was not really ideal to run on with all the heavy traffice - we survived and I managed to reach the car after 60.5km and 7hrs with Michael following shortly after. A quick stretch later and off we went to look for Trent, who we found only 5km short of the finish - we picked him up with the car and drove home to a well deserved cool beer and and ice bath......
Next week Trent and I will run the Canberra Ultra Marathon as a final test before tempering down till South Africa.

Francois qualified !

2010-04-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

Some good news this week - Francois, my running buddy for The Comrades, has qualified for the race by finishing the Loskop Ultra Marathon with 10 seconds to spare. After 5hrs 59min and 50sec he and his guide Kero crossed the finishing line after a hard 50km race. This was Francois's first ultra marathon and a great introduction to what's to come end of May.

My week was busy as usual - two days preparing Ben for the Sydney 1/2 marathon doing our rounds in Centennial Park and on Saturday doing a big run with Trent and Doug moving for almost 5 hours. All in all another 100+ km week done, two more to go....

Today I jogged the route of the Sydney 1/2 marathon with Ben to give him an opportunity to memories all the corners, hills and other features of the run. We will do one more recon run next weekend to give Ben a perfect preparation for the race mid-May.

Happy feet

Run 4 Vision Fundraiser Movie Night - 14 May 2010

2010-03-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

Take your friends and family for a night out and watch Aussie icons Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett star in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. (http://www.robinhoodthemovie.com.au)

The Foundation needs our help to eliminate avoidable blindness. They have managed to reduce the cost of cataract surgery to as little as $25 in some developing countries, and so far, over one million people in the world can see today because of initiatives instigated by Professor Fred Hollows and thanks to your generous support.

Please pre-purchase your tickets. The movie will be just newly released, and there are only limited seats available for sale on the evening. The movie tickets are $25 per person and include a pre-movie drink at the Ritz Bar.

Tickets can be booked by transferring the money with your name and the number of tickets required using bank transfer to HSBC Bank Australia at BSB: 342-080 / Account: 126923-412 / Name: Markus Schar / Ref: Run 4 Vision
or simply go to www.run4vision.com and use your credit card to pay via PayPal

I'm looking forward to welcoming you, your family, friends and work colleagues to a fun night out and help The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Thank you for your generous and continuous support

Yes! New PB for 6ft Track

2010-03-16T01:55:00.000-07:00

Finally - a very slow start a few years ago, a DNF in 2008 and a good race last year, finally last Saturday I had a great 6ft track race. Conditions were dry and with an overcast sky most of the morning, I was ready to start in wave 3 at 8.20am from the Explorer Tree. Trent, Mangos and Denis had to wait another 15 min to get on the way with wave 4.

On the way down those steps I caught up with Michael from New Zealand, who is preparing for the Marathon des Sables in 2 months time and he was delighted to have found a good source of information in me. We chatted along for the first 8 - 10 km and without realizing I ended up at the Cox River in less they 2 hours. The river was not too high but some runners still got caught out leaving their bumbags with iPod and phone around their waist.

Hmmm, Trent, try again to get an replacement iPod from Apple now.
The long hours of walking with the Wild Women the week earlier helped me to keep up the momentum getting up to MiniMini and Pulvio and I was surprised to find myself reaching the top of the race in only 3 1/2 hours. So suddenly I realized that I have more then 2 hours to finish under the aimed 6 hours. So I kept taking those energy gels and powered along finishing the last, steep 4 km in under 4min/km and crossing the finish in 5hrs34min - still slow compared to the winners but hey, at least I left the youngsters behind me!

Very happy and looking forward to the next challenge - the 50km in Canberra in May

Sydney Half Marathon

2010-03-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

Signed up for the last training race before flying to South Africa.

The Sydney Half-Marathon on Sunday, 16 May is an excellent race to test final fitness.

In conjunction with the race I created a donation webpage supporting my case of helping The Fred Hollows Foundation - giving people their eye sight back!

Run4Vision - helping needlessly blind people see again

Thank you for your support.

Happy feet
Markus

Team Fred 1

2010-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

What a great Coast Trek! After a long (my bus ride for the year) bus trip to Avalon on Friday evening I settled in at the Beach Backpackers for the night. A short and noisy one too. At 4.45 Penny from The Fred Hollows Foundation picked me up and we drove the last 10 km to the start at Palm Beach - already a busy place at 5am in the morning. Last preparation in the dark and me waiting for the rest of team Fred 1 - John Faulkner and Lachlan Harris, who showed up just before 6am for the start. We three made up the first group of Team Fred 1 and had to cover the first 50km of the 100km Coastrek from Palm Beach to Coogee Beach. Caitlin, Ying and Lisa from The Foundation were waiting for us in Balmoral to take over the 'baton' for the second 50km to the finish.
What a great morning it was - clear sky, great sun-rise over the ocean and beautiful scenery all along the coast to Manly. I have never walk or run (nor did I know about it) the coast track from Palm Beach. A narrow track snailing its way south along the cliff. Steep drop to the left and great real estate to the right. My two companions were a bit on the slow side and my legs got quite itchy walking at sub 5min/km, so I started to jog along and by 8.30 am I had a stop at Narrabeen Beach for breakfast and cafe waiting for them. Along we went together but soon my runner instinct got the better of me again and I headed off towards Manly where I had lunch. The sky got darker and the last thing I wanted is to run in the wet so I decided to head off towards the finish. Knowing that this is a team event I finished first the 50km less 500m in about 8 1/2 hours and then had to wait for John and Lachlan. I had a swim in the harbour, a hot shower and change at the Balmoral Pavilion and let pass 4 teams having a couple of drinks at the pavilion. 3 hours later finally they showed up and together we crossed the finish at the half way point. Being the first relay team the 3 girls were all excited and headed off straight away. Unfortunately they had to start and walk in heavy rain, which must not have been too much fun for them. 12 hours an a few minutes later they arrived at 4am in Coogee Beach and as far as I am aware team Fred 1 finished first as the relay team - great effort. Next year I like to be back with a runner team to enjoy the whole 100km. By the way - the organiser, Wild Women on Top did a fantastic job and all involved rose over 170'000 AU$ for The Fred Hollows Foundation - a great effort!
For me - it is recovering quickly now and getting ready for next Saturday's 6ft track ultra marathon - not as easy as yesterdays trail run, that's for sure. Fingers crossed the sun will be out again by next weekend
Happy feet
Markus

100 km along Sydney's coast

2010-03-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

I am participating in a great team (Fred 1) at tomorrow’s 1st edition of Coastrek. My team will be running from Palm Beach to Balmoral tomorrow morning, where we hand over the baton to 3 girls from the Fred Hollows Foundation, who will finish up the 100km at Coogee Beach.

You can follow us on http://www.wildwomenontop.com/wild-walks-adventures/coastrek, look for the link for live updates half way down the page.

The ‘Wild Women on Top’ have created a great ‘race’ along Sydney’s coast line and generated enourmous good will in the process for The Fred Hollows Foundation. Close to 150’000 AU$ have been raised sofar in conjuction with this Coastrek!

You too can participate and help, please visit http://www.everydayhero.com.au/fred_team_1 and give generously. Thank you for your support

Happy feet

Back on Track

2010-02-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

After spending January recovering from my cold and flu, I am slowly getting back on track. February was a good running month sofar and I gradually increased my weekly runs to 70 km in total. Last 4 weeks covered 300 km - not enough to be of too much use in 2 weeks time at the 100km Sydney Coastal Trek . I can only hope that I will end up in a slow group, so it won't be too hard to follow.
6ft Track is following just a week later, it looks like I will b chased be the sweeper again this year.
My running buddy in South Africa is slowly getting into the training for The Comrades - only 100 days to go, I keep my fingers crossed that Francois is getting some good long runs in soon - not an easy tasks, as he has to find a guide who is able to keep up with him for a couple of hours each time. The Comrades is a very hard race to finish and it is important to train ones body to be able to keep on its legs for 12+ hours in one day.

Invictus

2010-01-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

This week was supposed to be week 2 of my training schedule but I am still badly under the weather and was just happy (not) to be back at work. Bloody cough is still not gone and I am lost on how to get rid of this messy European cold. My feet are so itchy to get out and hit the road it is not funny anymore.

Last night we had a great evening at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick and enjoyed a great movie from Clint Eastwood starring an excellent Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman - 'Invictus', an inspiring story. Thanks to generous support of all attending I was able to transfer close to $1000 to The Fred Hollows Foundation and another 40 needlessly blind people will be able to see again!

So two more days of hot tea with lemon and then I really hope I can put those new Nike runners on Monday morning to go for a jog.

European Winter

2010-01-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

I knew I should have dressed warmer or was it not enough Mulled Wine?? I am still recovering from a bad, very bad cold and chest infection - coughed my lungs out lately. So, needless to say that training for 2010 has not even started yet and I am getting itchy feet. Hopefully be mid-January this bug is gone and I can put my new Nike runners on (If you into running shoes, London is the place - almost half of the cheapest shop in Sydney).

Anyway, just before I left for Europe I booked a movie night at the Ritz in Randwick and I hope that you may come and join us to watch the latest Clint Eastwood flick called 'Invictus' - a movie based on the true story of Nelson Mandela's efforts to unite his country after the dark years of apartheid.

Please come Friday, 22 January 2010 from 8.30pm to the Ritz bar to join us for a drink and movie in support of The Fred Hollows Foundation. Check my website for more details (www.run4vision.com)

See you at the movie

2 months of resting

2009-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

I did not stop completely but apart from the occasional run on a weekend, I have not seen a gym from the inside nor put on my runners during the week for the last 2 months now. It was very nice to enjoy a rest, some good wine and food for a while.

Unfortunately it shows with the 4 kgs I put on during that time and the coming festive season won't help to shed them quickly either. Another 3 weeks of enjoying the good live and then on the 11 Jan 10 it is all back to business.

My training plan is set, my goals clear and my determination strong.

I have 8 weeks to get ready for the 100km Coast Trek from Palm Beach to Coogee Beach first weekend in May, then a week to recover before attempting the 45 km of the 6 ft Track in the Blue Mountain. Followed by some more hard training for another 8 weeks before my final test - the 50 km of Canberra.

After that it is all fine tuning for South Africa - The Comrades 2010, here we come. Having ran the best ultra in the world in 2003 I will make next year's race an extra special challenge - running 89km and guiding Francois, my blind South African buddy to the finish line.
Over the last few weeks I started to learned how to guide visualy impaired runner with the Achilles Club in Sydney.

Of course the whole next year is again used to raise as much needed fund for The Fred Hollows Foundation - helping them to reach their goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by 2020!

I very much hope you can be part of my journey again, as only with your generous support I will be able to reach my goals and help The Fred Hollows Foundation reaching theirs.

Wish you and your family a peaceful festive season and a very happy and injury free 2010!
Markus

Fit, Fun and forever Young...

2009-10-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

After a week of recovering and getting ready for today's 1/2 marathon, Philip (my Belgium buddy), Uli (our house photographer) and myself were ready for action at 7am in front of the mighty Olympic Stadium. This time the start was staggered in age groups and I was off 2 minutes ahead of Phil....not that it made a big difference, as the first of the 50+ guys steamed pass me after 2 km into the race. It was a perfect day and a relatively flat course which was made for fast times. I was sucked into the speed of the group and powered along in just over 20min for the first 5km, which of course was way to fast and I paid the price in the last 5km which took me 27min. Overall I did not reach my goal of 100min and finished in 103min for the 21km. It was just sooooo hard to keep up with all those fit old farts. It is encouraging seeing 70 year old men running hard and leaving younger ones behind but it is just bloody hard to keep motivated if it happens to you in a race. Moral of the story is that I probably have to keep going, stay fit and have fun for another 35 years before I have a small chance of a medal....there were still a handful of 80+ runners competing but hey, being in the first 5 of a World Masters Game is not too bad after all. I liked the comments of the 99 year old and 6 gold medal winner who said that no one should ever mention the world old to her...unless it has a G in front of it!
So, 2009 is done - 2'000km, 4 pairs of shoes, a great 100km North Face race and a fun time at the World Masters Games. Now a few weeks of resting, staying fit and relaxing before starting a new adventure in 2010!
Happy Feet and stay fit
Markus

Let the Games begin - World Masters Games 2009

2009-10-12T01:56:00.001-07:00

First weekend and race done - The Sydney 2009 World Masters Games have begun. After a miserable week with rain and cold weather at least most of Sunday stayed dry.

Uli and I stayed at Homebush overnight to be ready for the 7am start on Sunday morning. I picked-up my accreditation card and signed in for the 10 km race that afternoon.

Since the organisation of these Games are done by the government it should not surprise about the most stupid sign-up system they came up with. For each race I and all other athletes signed up for you need to show up a day prior the race to pick up your race number!?!?! This would mean for me to take off Monday and drive out to Homebush to simply sign in for my race on Tuesday morning. So of course I will give my 8 km race a miss as some of us still have to work, but even for the retiree it means they loose precious time for sightseeing by driving back and forward to sign-up for each days events.

Anyway, at 7am on Sunday morning I was ready at the start of the 10km road race of the World Masters Games. A fresh but dry morning awaited a few hundred starters. Sadly only one wheelchair athletes was competing (his gold was guaranteed). The race was 2 loops of almost 5km and then a short finish into the stadium at the end.

The race number are interesting, as they show the first two digits as your age group and I can tell you it is no fun to try and keep up with number 70456 and getting overtaken by 65346 in the last 500 m of the run....there were certainly some top runners out there and even Darwin Don (80+) finished his race in under 90 min!

I had a far too fast first 5km (20.56) and suffered a bit in the second half but I was very happy to save some of my fast 1st loop all the way to the finish and crossing in 44.17 - my best ever timed 10km! No gold and glory for me but a 31st position in my age groupe and 201st overall. Looks like I have to keep running for another 30 years before I have a good chance of a medal....the 80+ group was the size of 2 runners :-)

A week of rest and recovery before I will attempt another PB with the 1/2 marathon next Sunday. The recovery is more for the hard Opening Ceremony which followed on Sunday evening. Hours after hours of waiting and catching up with fellow athletes in a waiting area before finally we marched into the ANZ (former Olympic) stadium with over 28'000 other athletes from over 95 countries. Was quite a spectacle which I will remember for ever.

Happy feet till next Sunday

16 days to go!

2009-09-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

With the Sydney Bridge Run over it is count-down to the World Masters Games now. Last Sunday was actually harder then I thought. Hard to get up at 4.30am to reach the start by 6am, harder to run all the way out to Leichhard and turn around to finish at the Opera House. The humidity and mass of people got to me and I started to fast ending at 10km under 45min but paying the price in the second half when the heat started kicking in. Saw quite a few runners pulling out with heat and exhaustion problems. I did not have a strong finish and crossed the line 1 minute over my target - 101 min for the 21 km. Well, lessons learned and in 2 weeks time it can only get better, right?
I not only hope to improve my time but also reach my other goal of helping 21 blind people to see again by raising enough money for The Fred Hollows Foundation - please check out my fundraiser page on www.gofundraise.com.au/run4vision and dig deep - every little cent helps!
Save training and hope to see you out in Homebush on Sunday, 11 October to cheer me on at the World Masters Games
Happy Feet
Markus

South Africa - here we come

2009-09-03T03:34:00.000-07:00

Today I finally signed up for one of the oldest and best Ultra Marathon in the world - The Comrades in South Africa. http://www.comrades.com/
In May 2003, I tasted for the first time the true magic and rewards of running an ultra marathon - hours after hours with 10'000 of other runner racing through stunning country side from Pietermaritzburg to Durban - an unforgettable adventure.

Next year will be the 85th edition of this ultimate human race and together with the Soccer World Cup make a trip to South Africa a must!

Watch this space - Run4Vision will live up to its name and make The Comrades a very special event!

Happy Feet!

Mudgee and beyond

2009-08-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

I was waiting for a rainy day to update my way overdue blog, but it seems the sun is winning this battle, so I am bite the bullet....

After all those weeks in the gym it was a real pleasure to run in the sun again the last couple of weeks. Finally last weekend we travelled to Mudgee (3 hours west of Sydney) for the 1/2 marathon. Only problem was the destination is famous for its wines and after two days of intensive training in wine tasting and eating too much cheese, I stood, slightly hanged over and overweight, at the starting line on Sunday morning at 6.30am in my thermal running gear.
Hey, they told me it is going to be freezing cold in the outback....I was very happy that the organiser offered these great running shirts to all participants and I found a pair of shorts in the car, because the pre-start announcement of 24 degrees and sunshine for the run made me panic and change in record time to lighter gear....wise decision After a few km running in the shade and out of Mudgee the sun starting coming over those hills and sure enough it warmed up considerably. Very happy man running along in those shorts and light shirt :-) (I heard some guys overheated badly in the Marathon running in too warm gear).
The run made his way through those beautiful vineyards and the whole scenery made the getting up so early worthwhile. I tried to keep to my running plan but soon realised that the Shiraz and Pinot Noir from last night took the better of me and made me slow down a bit....since I was in no mode to talk to other runners in my state I decided to simple keep my head down and ponder on to the finish. The last 4 km were kind of hard and my proven tactic of catching one bright t'shirt after the other ahead of me failed miserably...nevertheless I made it to the finish and when I checked the clock I realised that my time was the same as for last month race - 98min.
Even so I failed in my goal to reach 95 min I was very happy with my time and glad to catch up with wife and friends at the next winery for a glass of White :-) to celebrate.

So looks like my 95 min have to be done next month at the World Masters Game then. Looking forward to that event - expecting to meet many athletes from all over the worlds and sure making new friends.

MdS fellow Action Jackson did a great 2nd place in Mudgee (only beaten by a 18 year old) and he will be a favorite in his devision in October for sure. His 80min for the 1/2 marathon will be for ever out of my reach

The next 6 weeks will be used to somehow find ways to cut those 3 minutes off my time - 180 sec seems not much but when you have to run 10 sec faster every km for 21 km it becomes quite a project....only time will tell
Happy feet

Spring is in the air

2009-07-23T02:35:00.000-07:00

Nice week weather wise - first time in a long while I enjoyed a run in the Botanical Garden over lunch time. Sooo much better then then to good, old treadmill at the gym. My knee is giving me trouble again - guess the running on the road has an impact as well as my visits to the chiro practor to fix my spine....seems like the running with the damaged knee made me favoring one side more then the other with the result that my spine is now twisted...so we need to untwist quickly to get me ready for the World Masters Game in October :-)
Happy feet

World Masters Games - here we come

2009-07-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

This morning I went south for one of my first 1/2 Marathon races for ages. Sri Chinmoy Sydney (www.srichinmoyraces.org/au/events/sydneyraces organised a great event down south at Dolls Point.
A week after my marathon at the Gold Coast my legs were still a bit weary but once the start 'gun' went off, I and Denis headed off on a fast 4.20 pace...soon we got into a rhythm and we crossed the first 1okm in 46.50 min, I just hoped to be able to keep it up.
Denis went a bit ahead of me and for the second leg I again used my 'catch the next colourful t'shirt' tactic. It worked fine and soon Denis appeared again just ahead of me. Feeling that he is slowing down, I knew I am going to get him. Unfortunately I did sooner then expected because he suddenly pulled out with a calf muscle injury. So I had to focus on a new t'shirt and with 4 km to go, I suddenly 'ran' out of other runners ahead of me...so it just became a long sprint to the finish. 98min for 21.1km, good work for a Sunday morning and on track for the games. Now it is back to training for the next 6 weeks until the Mudgee 1/2 marathon in August - I feel a new PB may be coming up by then :-)
Happy feet

Running for Fred

2009-07-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

As you know I signed up for the Sydney Bridge Run and in the process I opened a fundraising page through their website. Please help and make a difference!

Visit www.gofundraise.com.au/run4vision

Too many poor people need our help - they are needlessly blind and we can help them - remember $25 is enough to give a person the eyesight back.

Thanks for your support

Like good wine.....getting better with age....

2009-07-06T03:08:00.001-07:00

The Gold Coast Marathon (http://www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au/) is a great race to run fast or at least try to....I was glad the start was at a decent time of 7.30am on Sunday morning. After a long night 2 nights ago, discovering Brisbane's nightlife any extra minute in bed was needed.

Under ideal conditions, cool 19 degrees maximum and slightly overcast with high clouds, over 4'000 runners lined up at the start. Trent (Marathon Man) and I decided to start with the 3.45hrs pacer and then see how we go. Going through the first 10 km in relaxed 52 min and since I was not comfortable with running in a big group of people (which kind of bulked up all around the pacer), I decided to speed up a bit and go ahead of the group.
The next 5 km split showed me a couple of minutes ahead of pace and felling good, I just kept going. Half way was done in 110 minutes. For the second half I decided on a new tactic by simply picking out a bright shirt of a runner a few hundred meters ahead of me and then chase 'it' down. That worked a treat and one colourful 'shirt' after another was left behind. After the final turn at 36 km and still feeling great, I kept this tactic up and without looking at time or distance any longer, I cruised into the finish line realising that with a bit more effort I could have easily beaten my own PB - finishing in 3hrs37min or a mere 1 min slower then my best ever - 8 years earlier. Was very happy with myself and headed back to enjoy the obligate ice bath back at the Sofitel followed by a family size pizza.
Trent was not as lucky and following his short recovery from a flu, he never took off and battled all the way to the finish - but finish he did. Maybe his worst race but remembering my worst a few years back on exactly the same course here can only mean that he can come back and do better next year.

This probably was my last marathon for the year. It seems that my new speed training was already helping to improve my race times and the next couple of months of running and training now for 1/2 marathons and 10 km race can only mean (hopefully) more fast times ahead. Next race will be the 1/2 in Mudgee (www.mudgeetriclub.hwy.com.au/marathon), followed by the Sydney Bridge run (http://www.sydneymarathon.org/) and then we should be ready for some great racing at the World Masters Games (http://www.2009worldmasters.com/)

I am also glad to have already my qualification for The Comrades 2010 (http://www.comrades.com/) in my pocket with the Gold Coast Marathon time.

Happy running everyone.

Training for Speed

2009-06-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

It is nice to have weeks with just 50km in the legs, especially as the weather is not at all inviting to go out and run. Today I covered just under 20km in 105min and got miserably wet in the process. The Nike shoes are holding up fine - one small pressure point on the right foot but I am sure I can sort that one out too. I am doing 5km runs now in 4'20" pace, so next step is to get the distance up over the next few weeks.
It is great to not spend hours after hours out running for once and spend some more time at home. Tomorrow, if the weather holds up I try to join up with some runners in the Botanical Garden for a round or two.
Have also signed up for another 1/2 marathon in August - Mudgee Running Festival. Seems like a nice race through wine yards. Just hope it is not going to be too cold then.
Happy running and save training.

Mini-Mos - 10km Race

2009-06-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

First test completed. I was getting some new shoes yesterday, Gary at Kenso recommended Nike Air Zoom Triax 11 over my usual Asics DT2130 and they felt great on my feet, so I went along with it and got myself 2 new pairs.
Went for a short speed session that same day to test them out and I have to say they feel great and offer some bounce on the road.
Anyway - Marathon Man and Susie picked me up early today and we drove north over that bridge to Mosman to run the MiniMos Marathon - a 10km race through the neighbour hood of that suburb.
A fair number of keen runners of all ages waited at the starting line and for once the weather was friendly and not too cold. We met some old faces from Morocco as well as 'famous' ones (Tony Abbott). The course was fairly hilly and it was good that I had no clue where the course went. I just put down my head and off I went. I had to find my benchmark for the 10 km - a distance I probably raced 12 years ago the last time.
The first 5 km where hilly and I went through that first leg in 22 min - left Marathon Man behind and attacked the second half of the race. There were a few out and back section, so you got a good glance of who was ahead and who behind you. With an average of 4.33 per km I found enough to sprint the last few 100 meters and managed to finish just a bit over 45 min for the distance. So I know it will be a hard uphill battle if I say that 40 min is the goal for the World Masters Games, but if that course is a flat one and on a good day you never know.

A few minutes later Marathon Man sprinted down Tony A. and finished in less than 50 min - well done! Congratulations to Susie too, who is on track to become MarathonGirl - a mere minute over the hour mark, means that mark can be broken at the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks. We all have signed up for the Gold Coast Marathon. A Marathon des Sables reunion for Josh, Keith, Trent and myself for the big one and another go for Suzie to beat the 60 min for the 10km race.

3 weeks to the Marathon plus another 7 days for the next race - a ½ marathon test – it is all happening. 17 weeks to the Games….

Following the steps of Dean Karnazes...

2009-05-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

It is fitting that this is my 100th post on my blog - as it is about my 100 km race in the Blue Mountains last Saturday!

Arriving in Katoomba on Friday around lunch time with Ann from Queensland, we used the free time to drive to the various look-out along the cliffs, so Ann (her first visit) could get a feel of what lays ahead of us the next day.
It was a gorgeous day and the view was magnificent - only those cliffs looked daunting and almost unsurmountable! Where and how the hell are we going to get up and down those cliffs?!

At 5 pm we arrived at the infamous Fairmount Resort in Leura to register for the race and have all our mandatory gear checked. During the registration Ann and I pumped into DK - the one and only Ultra Marathon Man! http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/

Dean Karnazes is the host of the race - The North Face 100. He flew in this morning having raced and finished a 345 km race the previous weekend. Looks like a 100 km here will be a walk in the park for him.

He is such a great guy - we had a short chat, took some photos and he was more then happy to sign his books at the same time. Looks like he was in for a long night as more and more runners lined up behind us to see him too.

After the obligate pasta dinner, I went back to the hostel to arrange my final pack and get some sleep. Even so I prepared drop bags for Checkpoint 3, 4 and 5, I made the decision in the morning to try and spend as little time as possible on each CP and not waste time changing shoes or gear. I also did not carry any extra food for the first 3 legs and relied on the provided food on CP 1 and 2 (which were excellent and plenty full). So my final pack was as light as possible.

Saturday morning 5 am breakfast and final gear check - we (Ann, Denis and I) drove to the Resort for a last cup of tea, before we had to line-up in the start area for the final safety and race briefing and then finally the gun went off shortly after 7am.

It was a relief to start running since the temperature and wind chill made it a very cold morning in the mountains…we had to do a loop around the hotels golf course, which allowed the field to spread out a bit and after a short stretch through Leura’s road we soon settled into a conga line along the cliff walk towards the famous 3 Sisters.

The first 17 km to Checkpoint 1 were uneventful apart from the steep decent into the valley and an even steeper climb out on the other side up to Narrow Neck.

The line of runners along this first leg made it almost impossible to overtake and I kind of settled into a slow jog through the cool and damp forest. It was a good thing as it allowed me to keep some strength for later in the day.

Arriving at CP1 after 2hrs28min and 28min behind my schedule I did not have to convince myself to quickly fill-up my bottles, grab some food and head out straight away – the next bit was quite exposed to the freezing cold wind along the top of the cliff and running was a good way of keeping warm and making up some time. The section on Narrow Neck Road allowed for great view over the Blue Mountains and smooth running until the end of the cliff – where we had only one option to get down – using the famous Tarros Ladders.
The ladders proved to be a bigger obstacle then thought and unfortunately we runners started piling up waiting to get down as only on runner at the time was allowed on the ladder. Very quickly the ice cold wind cooled us down even with wearing the rain jackets and hat. At least I used the 35min waiting time to take in some needed food and fluid.

After I finally climbed down the ladders I forced myself to walk first for a km or so to simply warm up all muscle again…a good move as I soon after overtook two runners who pulled their hamstrings and had to give up soon after….the organisers seemed to be overwhelmed by the strong increase of runners this year and clearly did not expect the field to be so evened out in quality, causing this kind of delays and they promised to look into the issue to improve it for next year.

This second delay put me back over an hour on my schedule and I submitted to the fact that 15 hour finish is now out of reach. Nevertheless I kept going hard and after an interesting out and back section on the course – meeting the runners who were roughly 20-30 min ahead of me, I arrived at CP 3 and grabed my first drop-bag. After a random gear check by the organisers, I quickly took my own gels and drink powder, refill the bottles and eat some nuts before heading out within 15 minutes.

The next section was well known to me - Denis and I spent a weekend with family and friends in the Megalong Valley training on the 6 ft track section a few months earlier. This time however we ran the other direction back to Katoomba and for me it was the hard part of the race, felling sluggish and tired, I had a very hard time to even run along the flat part and struggled even more up the steep and endless steps up Nellies Glen.

My goal was reached, when I arrived at CP 4 with the last daylight! 67km into the race I enjoyed a warm soup and some raisin buns before setting myself up for the reminder of the race in the dark. Rain Jacket on, Headlight and a hand held backup light plus the reflective jacket on top.

Off I went again only 15 min after arriving at this CP.

The final section of the course I trained on twice on, so it was well known to me and with the help of one ‘No Doz’ my feet and brain were awake again and I enjoyed a real great first 15 km of the section – mostly downhill across two rivers and then steep up to Queen Victoria Hospital on the other side of Jamison Valley – the good thing about the dark night was that one could not really see too far ahead and therefore the very steep climb was actually reduced to a few meters of trail in front of ones feet and it was half as bad as during daylight.

At CP 5 again I grabbed my gels, drinks and another soup and was out of there as quick as possible. I just wanted to get this done now and finish before midnight. Looking at my splits and times between CP's, it seems that I made up 20 position between CP 4 and the finish – but I would have only overtaken a handful of runners on the trail, so it was my short pit stops where I left the other runners behind.

The last 11 km were a very long 11 km and the 2hrs+ are prove of it. It was demoralising on the last few km, where we all had to climb down into the valley only to crawl out of it on the other side, a mere 1 km from the finish line.

Once I could see the end I managed to get my last 'second wind' and sprinted down 2 runners in the last 500m. I was very happy to get into the warms of the Fairmount Resort, but did not linger too long and after checking how far behind Denis and Ann were, I hopped into the car and drove to the hostel.

After a nice, long hot shower and a shocking cold ice bath for my leg, I drifted into a restless sleep till 6am when the sun and birds woke me up. Off I went back to the finish line – I missed Denis by 2 ½ hours but Ann was due to come in anytime. I enjoyed some nice café and buns waiting for her and finally after just over 24 long hours she arrived, still ahead of 11 other battlers.

We all were happy with our result – as usual in such long races – it is not the ranking at the end which counts but the voyage to the startline and the journey to the finish, which marks each and every one of us.

Dean Karanzes confirm to us at the ceremony, that this was indeed his hardest 100 km race he has done (and he has certainly done some in his life). He told us, that we should be very proud of ourselves to not only have made it to the start but finished this great race! We are now part of an elite group of people, which call themselves Ultra Marathoner - having followed in the steps of DK!

Happy and save running

Off to the mountains

2009-05-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

In case you bored and sit on the computer on Saturday, you can follow my progress on the website - look for the 'Live Site' link on www.thenorthface.com.au/100

Can't wait now to get up to Katoomba after all those weeks of hard training. Fingers cross the weather holds and then I am sure I will enjoy the race.

Happy running for the guys down in Sydney for the Halfmarathon on Sunday morning...I will have a nice massage by then and recover from my 100km :-)

1 week to go

2009-05-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

After a few 100+ km weeks including last weeks night run, it was nice to temper down. I survived a 'heavy' bucks weekend in the middle of all these and today, after a very long night into the early morning hours (on light beer and water), I still managed to head out for a 10km jog this morning.
Looking all good for next weekend - hopefully the weather stays as it was this Saturday. It would be great to run in sunshine and enjoy the stunning scenery up in the mountains.

Since January I put down a good 1'200km in training runs, lost 6 kg and feel almost as fit as prior Morocco. So bring it on - The North Face 100 - we are ready! Finalised the last gear for the race this week and sorted out my 3 drop bags - since I am without a support crew (Uli very sensibly decided to stay at home rather then spend a freezing night waiting for me in the mountains) so I had to organise 3 bags with change of clothes, food, drinks - to make my race as smooth as possible. Of course the organiser have the check points filled with food, drinks and other goodies but I prefer to have my own with me - just in case I don't like what's on offer.

Can't wait now - 6 sleeps and off we go!

Night Training

2009-04-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

Last night - after the heavy rain, Denis and I went for a 15 km night run along the cliffs on the Golf Courses and then into Botany Bay NP. It was good to be out there and test the torches and the equipment at night. This will help for the big run in 2 weeks time. For Denis it was a first and he enjoyed it quite a lot - so much that he started heading off on the last 5 km so fast that I never saw him again. One thing is sure - he won't be able to keep up that speed in the Blue Mountains for long.
All the gear is now tested and ready and after this weekend I will start tempering down. Weekend before the race I am organising a bucks night - it is going to be a tough one - light beer and water for me, I guess.
Save and happy running

Back to the mountains once more...

2009-04-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

After an uneventful week running wise - sore legs on Monday and Tuesday, days I covered with cycling and stepper sessions in the gym followed by a great massage on Wednesday, then a rest on Thursday. Friday a short 10km on the treadmill. Today I was lucky to get a lift with Steph and Lena back to the mountains. We did once more CP4 to the Finish and back to the car at parked at the Oval. Just short of 40km and 6hrs later, we were glad the kiosk was open and able to serve us a nice, warm soup. It was cooler then last week and I can only imagine the temperature we will have in another 3 weeks time up there. The wind was freezing at some places and if one stopped, the legs started seizing up immediately...guess, that means to simply keep going on race day :-)
Lead our small group of 5 onto a little de-tour on the way to Wentworth Falls - it was a nice track to start with leading to a great look-out, but soon it kind of turned into a jungle track were one needed a big knife to cut ones way trough - we almost decided to turn around (after 1 km into the Underwood) only to thanksfully discover a mere 10 m later, that we are back on the main track! It was also much softer and wet with the rain we had last week. Fingers crossed it will be dry on 16 May - would hate to run 100km in rain and cold wind....bring back the Sahara and sand dunes, I would say.
Glad that I did this last section of the race once more - it just will help to move a bit easier at night during the race, knowing what's ahead of you.
Two more weeks of hard training ahead and then we will temper down to get ready for the big day. Safe training and happy running

Training Weekend in the mountains

2009-04-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Denis and I went up to Katoomba to train on the race course - the plan was to cover the last 35 km of the race - the stretch most likely to be run late afternoon and at night.
We started at noon from Katoomba and to start with we had to 'battle' hordes of tourist coming up the 900+ steps of the Giant Stairways! I am looking forward to these steps after 70km into the race - it is going to be fun 'running' down those stairs....I only hope there won't be any tourists! Once we turned off the main track and onto the race course down Jamison Valley it was great - all alone in this big area of bush - beautiful. The course was perfect, so was the weather. Denis struggled since he tried out a new sports drink which he could not keep down and the result was dehydration and slowing down for him. Another proof that it is important to test all your gear and nutrition well before a big run and race. Once we crossed Jamison Creek it started to get uphill and somehow we had to get up those cliffs again on the other side of the valley. Boy oh boy were those hills steep....considering that we were fresh and on the race day this would be into the 80's these hills sure will be a test of strength and willpower. Once on the top of the cliff it was a breeze to head to Checkpoint 5 and on back to Leura. Another good test was the temperature..as soon as the soon went down low it cooled down and in May it will be cold so warm clothes for the race are a must. Sunday morning we went for a quick 20km run along the first 10km or so of the race just to loosen our sore legs up a bit. We just made it back before the fog and rain came in. I only hope that on 17 May the sun will be with us - would be a real pain in the bum to cover 100 km in rain, fog and high humidity.
Well, what can I say - another test well done, now a few more weeks of strong training on hills and endurance and then we should be ready for The North Face 100
Happy running

Easter Bunny

2009-04-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

I took the few days off to clock up some extra km's and I am glad I went out Friday and Saturday to get a good 70km in - Sunday was Easter Bunny visit so today I simply had to brave the torrent and run off some of the chocolate eggs in the rain. I hope this weather is not a sign of things to come as I am not really looking forward to the Blue Mountains in the wet next weekend. Plan is to run the first 15km and the last 35km of the North Face course next Saturday to give us an idea of the section we most likely are going to run in the late evening and night. Save training

MdS 2009

2009-04-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

This years Marathon des Sables certainly was a special one - first the rain and flooding prevented the race to start and the first stage had to be cancelled, then the weather made the road book (race schedule) irrelevant as organisers had to check every day where they could go running across the desert and where they could put up the camp every night. So competitors had a hard race for different reasons - temperature were kind with 30 degrees but the humidity, mud and heavy sand certainly made it a tough one. The 10 times winner had to pull out during the longest every stage - 91km in one go! Most of the Aussies survived and finished! It just shows that mother nature can be the real winner in such circumstances. The last week I was sick with flu and not much running done. Started again with slow jogging during the weekend and hopefully will be ready for some good, long runs over Easter and then for the second Blue Mountain training camp the weekend after. 5 weeks till The North Face 100.
Save training all
Markus

One year ago

2009-03-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

It is already one year since we stood in the middle of the Sahara desert in Morocco at the starting line of the Marathon des Sables 2008. Well, I am glad I did it last year - this year the organiser had a hell of a job on hand with all the rain and flooding. The first stage got cancelled and since the race is on the way, they improvise every day. The runners do not know where they will go next day and for how long as it all depends where there is no water and flooding! Apparently it is also very cold out there, especially at night and the runners struggle to keep warm. Looks like a hell of a challenge for this years run as well. More info you can find and follow the race at http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php

I am on track for the big race in May - lost a few kilos, which is good and knees are holding up with all the hill training I am doing. Last week I did a 3 hour walk with the backpack and finished the week on 70km. Hope the weather will improve again as I am not yet ready to run in the rain

Cheers
Markus

6ft - done and dusted

2009-03-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am glad I got this one out of the way - a good run in excellent conditions and as usual with brilliant support from all the volunteers. Arrived very happy after 6 hours at the caves. The first section down from Katoomba was wet and slippery and as a result everyone took it slow. Unfortunately Trent (Marathon Man) twisted his ankle (twice) in the first 2 km and struggled for 7 hours all the way to the finish - his foot looked more like a ball then anything else by that time.

The way down to Cox River was as usually crowed with a single line of runners and it was almost impossible to overtake - in hindsight this was a good thing, as I saved energy during that section which I used as soon as I finished the climb up to Pulivometer - once that monster hill was out of the way, it was all downhill (kind of) to the caves.

As a training run for the coming TNF100 in May it was an ideal test - I managed the final 10 km in great shape and good legs - all that hill training is paying off. Had a hard time to eat and even get the gels down after a while this time and I lost 2.5% of body weight during the race. This needs to be addressed until May as for the 100 km race I can not allow to drop that much weight after less then half the distance.

8 more weeks of hard training ahead and then we are back in Katoomba for the 100km race. Will start running to work again once or twice a week and do some more steps and hills - those Blue Mountains sure looked hilly yesterday....

6ft Track

2009-03-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it is almost a year since the Marathon des Sables - Saturday I will be on the start for my 3rd 6ft track marathon from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains. http://www.sixfoot.com/course.php It is a pretty full-on course and I will be happy to finish within the given timelimit of 7 hours for the 45km. Last year I could not finish the race due to my knee problems but hopefully on Saturday afternoon I will be having a cool beer at the Cave House! This race is all done in preparation for the big on in May, so I will carry my good old MdS backpack along. A shame my buddy Michael had to drop out due to injury last week but I am sure to meet some old faces on Saturday during the run.
More (good) news on Sunday - Save running and happy training
Markus

2 months down and 500 km done

2009-02-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

Well, after 2 months, 1 training weekend in the Blue Mountain and 500 km on the road I can say that I am back on track for a great running year to come. Bring it on!

The last couple of weekends were hard. Getting up at 5.30am is no fun, nor is running the first 10km in the dark - I normally only take one pair of glasses with me and those are the sun glasses, so I look like Ray Charles hopping along Anzac Parade at 6am on a Sunday morning looking not to fall over. But by 9am I was finished and could spend the rest of the days with my parents visiting from Switzerland.

In two weeks the famous 6ft Track is on the program and I will run this race for the 3 time together with a friend from work - Michael, will attempt this race as his first marathon and the goal for both of us is to finish and use the race a preparation test for the 100km North Face in May.

Someone suggested that we should come back on Sunday morning after the 6ft Track and race in the Sydney Half Marathon - I don't think so...

Happy running

Hot Weekend

2009-02-03T02:26:00.000-08:00

Whooo - 35 degrees and rising. A couple of buddies and I spent a weekend in the Blue Mountains preparing for the 100km North Face. What a hot weekend it was - on Saturday we decided to pre-run the Megalong Mega, a 36km race which is a part of the hard 6ft track. We started at 6 am with 4.5 l per person from our house and cruised comfortably to Cox river crossing - by 7 o'clock we reached the very low river where we left a few bottles of water in the water for the way back. The sun was already getting high and my estimate of 2 hours to the top of Pulviometer was spot on as we arrived exhausted at 9am at the turn-around point. A good sip out of the bottle, a few gels and off we went speeding downhill. By the time we were back at the river crossing - with shaking legs - I kind of had it. The heat was pounding down and I knew that it was now another 10km mostly uphill to get back to the lodge. The last 6 km I walked and it took me a full 6.5 hrs to finish 40km - happy I did it and very glad I just had enough water to make it all the way home. First thing I did was to start up the car's air-condition and then I went back to the road intersection to wait for my buddies - I knew they were short of water and would love a short drive back. However it took them for ever to come so I went home for my shower and sent my friend Denis to pick them up. Marathon Man and Michael arrived exhausted and on their knees after 7.5 hrs in the heat. It seemed worse then in the desert in Morocco. Too humid in those forests. We enjoyed a great, long shower and a healthy meal that night. Sunday morning it was up again at 6am for another leg of the race - this time going East towards Katoomba. It was a killer with the pain in the legs and going up those 100's of steps up the cliffs towards the Explorer Tree (start of the 6ft track). We made it and then turned around for a sprint downhill and home - 15km and 2 hours more in the bag.
I feel good and on track with my training and look forward this time to an exciting 6ft track race mid-March. Not sure yet if I can convince my friends to join me - probably have to give them a few days to recover before pushing the subject again :-)
Save training
Markus

On track

2009-01-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and save running for 2009!
Sorry, have been slack updating the blog but certainly not slack getting back into training. After a short Christmas break I got straight back on track 1st January and now I am well into my routine of getting back to Marathon des Sable fitness. Got a couple of new pairs of runners and with the next 5 months pretty much set-up with training weekends and races, I only have to keep my knees happy and stay on my two legs until the big 100km race in May.
End of this month I am off to the Blue Mountains with friends and family to train on one or two stages of the race, just to get an idea of what to expect. It will be good to have that sandy backpack on again....wish it would be for more then just 100km, quite jealous of all the guys heading to Morocco in a couple of month.
Happy training and racing

Signed up!

2008-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

Done - have signed up for the North Face 100 next May - http://www.thenorthface.com.au/100/.
Now I just have to make sure I don't put too much weight on over the festive season and I can start with my training 1st January (maybe make it 2nd January) with not too many kg's over my running weight.
Looking forward to share some training runs and camps with my buddies Denis, Michael and the Marathon Man...first one will be end of January in the Blue Mountains - Megalong Valley http://www.coolrunning.com.au/fatass/hq/index.php?title=Megalong_Mega.
In March the hard 6ft track is on the menu - http://www.sixfoot.com/index.php - still unfinished business there for me after my DFN this year.
In April it is Canberra for the 50km Ultra http://www.canberramarathon.com.au/ and then we should be ready for a sub 15 hours at the NorthFace 100
Happy training ahead....

Movie Night

2008-11-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a MdS 08 get together with some of the Sydney runners! It was great to swap old stories and dream about a new race in the future.

We watched the offical DVD on a big screen followed by the main feature 'The Spirit of the Marathon'. To follow the DVD on a big screen was huge - those sand dunes sure looked much more intimidating then on a normal TV.

It was a great opportunity to invite all our supporters, friends and families and say once more thank you and show them on a big screen what our race was all about!

Over 180 people enjoyed a great night and I am sure that a few found some new inspiration to start a running career and new adventures.

I have to start myself my training again and get rid of those extra kilos I put on over the last few weeks in Fiji sipping cocktails....

The training plan is made, some races locked in - so now it is just up to me to get out again in the mornings and do it!

Save training!

Marathon des Sables on the big screen

2008-10-21T05:41:00.001-07:00

It has been a while but finally I am able to show you some footages from our epic race in the Sahara. To say 'Thank you' to all our supporters I have organised with some fellow runners a movie night where we are able to show you the offical DVD on the big screen followed by the main feature 'Spirit of the Marathon'.

Please contact me on 'info@run4vision.com' for details regarding tickets. Movie night is on Wednesday, 12 November 2008 at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Cremorne and starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are 15$ per person. Seasts are limited so please book early.

Looking forward to see you all at the movies next month.

Save training and happy running
Markus

Octoberfest - 1 year later

2008-10-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's already a year since I ran Fitzroy Falls Marathon on Saturday and Maroubra Fun Run the next morning....again a beautiful day, blue sky, 27 degrees and plenty of German Beer and Weisswurst waiting for us at the finish. This time I did not have to pace Tasman and after about 3 km I left him at the bottom of the first hill...it was a though run in the heat....and I was very happy to finish in 38 minutes which was 2 minutes faster then last year. Tasman was only a few minutes behind. So we well deserved the few German beers and sausages afterwards. Now it is off to a well deserved rest and then we start again in January for the big 100km North Face and the World Masters Games later that year. Tasman is keen to get into running and try a half marathon next year...looks like we may have another marathon man in the making?
Happy and save running
Markus

Last race on an empty tank

2008-09-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

Well, that's it for 2008! After a magic 7 days in the Moroccan Sahara running the famous Marathon des Sables I finished my racing year with the Fitzroy Falls Marathon. Last year, in prime shape, I finished this though race in 4 hrs. They say that a runner needs to add 30 min to his/hers normal marathon time - so was happy with last years result.
Today was a different story - with hardly any training done since Morocco I felt my legs missing a beat after about 28km and I was running like on an empty tank for the rest of the race. I had to let my buddy Denis go. The course layout came with a few out and back sections and I could see Denis fighting his way up those step hills - he really went for broke and his face got redder and redder each time I crossed him. Apparently his kids did not even recognise him at the finish....For the last 15 km I started walking the hills but continued running the rest and apart from one nice, young lady (which I was lucky enough to share the available bush shower after the race with ) nobody else overtook me and I hobbled into the finish in 4,5 hrs only 20 min after Denis.
So after my ice bath and some food I can now start reminiscing about the past, watching the just received DVD from Morocco and planning new adventure for 2009
Happy and save running
Markus

Hot out there

2008-09-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today most of the people were running over the Sydney Harbour Bridge racing in the Sydney Marathon...I did my 25km going south into Botany Nat. Park - last longer run before my race next Saturday in Fitzroy Falls. It is getting hot and today most have been a killer for Marathon Man in his suit running the 42km. Can't wait to see the results from today and looking forward to my last big race of the year myself.

Finally some 'Moroccan' weather

2008-09-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

What a nice day - sun was out and off I went with Marathon Man on a 35km run around the Eastern suburbs...only thing I forgot was the suntan lotion.
3hrs15min later I was back home with quite a red nose and shoulders but who cares - summer is coming! Was quite a change running in this weather after all the freezing cold days over the last few months. It will be an interesting Sydney and Fitzroy Falls Marathon the next two weekends if weather is getting warmer! Drinking is the main thing - keep those fluids in all the time to keep the engine running.
Decided on an additional challenge for next year - the 100km North Face in the Blue Mountains - http://www.thenorthface.com.au/100/ - just have to find out what dates in May next year. Just nicer to train in summer for such an event then during winter for the Oxfam 100km.
I started following the blogs of all the MdS runners for next years race and it makes me quite jealous - it is hard to keep training without such a big challenge to aim for...wish I could be there next year as well.

Run Phil Run

2008-09-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

I know - have not been very busy on this blog lately and that is prove that my running has taken a back seat too....and there is still that Fitzroy Fall Marathon coming up in 2 weeks time. Wonder how I am going to survive that one with the minimal training done. Currently following a running buddy in the USA along Route 66 - Phil has started a few weeks ago on his epic run self-sufficiant accross the US of A - http://www.runphilrun.com/blog/. Check it out and contact Phil so you get his great reports from the road!
I am already thinking Highway 1 around Oz.....but don't tell my wife yet.
Safe running

Games

2008-08-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

With the Olympic's on till midnight it makes it hard to be in top shape the next morning for long runs. The runs were slower and shorter last week and this won't change this week with the games in full swing.
Got a first pre-view of the MdS 2008 DVD - some great shots and happy to say that my "hand" made it a couple of times into the coverage as well!
Currently running regularly with "Marathon Man" when training - Trent is preparing a possible run around Australia in 2009 - this is a huge project and in planning stage at this moment. I am sure we will hear more about this in the future.
So - have to run, the Woman's marathon is on TV :-)
Save running

14km - C2S in 73min

2008-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Did my City to Surf on Saturday and ran 14km in just over 73min. Happy to have a day off today and having enjoyed a run yesterday without 70'000 other runners competing for space on the road. http://city2surf.sunherald.com.au/home2.php
My training really suffered a bit lately - less then 40km a week but I have signed up with a new gym near my new work place and from tomorrow onwards it will be back on track - only 6 weeks to go till Fitzroy Falls Marathon and I need to clock up some more km's each week.
Bring it on...

Slow but steady

2008-08-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

The last 2 weeks after our Hunter Valley 1/2 marathon were slow - I started a new job and just could not find the time to run more. Still clocking 50 km a week, so hopefully that will be enough for the next 8 weeks until Fitzroy Falls Marathon http://www.fitzroyfallsmarathon.com/. Just found out that the race is 2 weeks earlier then last year, so I need to squeeze in a few more runs between now and end of September.

Bought two new pairs of shoes and was able to give all my 'old'

shoes to a friend who takes them to South Africa, where

runners will happily use them for another few years!

I will probably find some of my shoes running The Comrades in 2010 against me :-)

Recently I am getting quite a few emails from fellow Aussies preparing for the Marathon des Sables 2009 and 2010 asking me for advise. Makes me all jealous to see them getting ready for next year - I am missing the desert, the excitement of preparing for that great race and I can't wait for my next big adventure....

Happy and save running

Old legs still running well

2008-07-21T02:43:00.000-07:00

Trent, Denis and I were ready for the 1/2 marathon in the Hunter Valley. After a nice steak and some local red wine the night before we felt great at 8.30 in the morning - a cool but clear day and 21 km laid ahead of us.

Denis and I signed up as a team 'Run4Vision' - competing in the 1/2 marathon were our times get added up for a marathon time. Marathon Man was here to run a new PB.

The first few km's were through the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens and across some wines before we had to start climbing the hill up to Wilkinson Vineyard and then on to Tulloch Wines. Shame we only got water and High 5 at the drink stops. The long way out and back towards Cessnock airport was always a challenge - I don't particulary like to see the leaders and faster runners coming back towards me when I still had to run 6 km to the turn-around point. After a good first 10km (49'30) I left Marathon Man behind at a drink station and kept going trying to speed up for the second half. I started overtaking runner after runner until one guy did not like me to get passed him - for about 4 km we battled on up the hill towards Pokolbin Estate where I had to let him go but thanks to the increased speed I managed the second 10km in 48'30 and finished the 1/2 marathon in 1.43'03.

I was happy with that result considering my reduced training. Marathon Man ran a new PB in 1.47'20. Denis beat us both with 98'24 with team 'Run4Vision' finishing in 2nd position.

I have to get back a bit more into long runs but the track and tempo training is showing results and I am looking forward to the marathon in October.

There will be a couple of more smaller races to run in the next few winter weeks before the Fitzroy Falls Marathon. My goal is to finish that off road race under 4 hrs.

Happy running

Ready for some wino?

2008-07-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am actually more ready for some nice red then for the forecoming 1/2 marathon in the Hunter Valley on Sunday....training was mixed the last 2 weeks with the cold morning making it hard to get out. Did I say cold.....

A few sessions in the gym but by far not the usual minimum 50km I had planned each week.

I guess I am still a bit in a recovery and resting mood after Morocco and my knees like it the slow going too. :-)

Looking forward to getting out of the crowded city and leave the streets to the Pope and his fans . Marathon Man has decided to join Denis and myself for the Sunday run - so looks like a fun weekend ahead.

All quite on the Western Front...

2008-07-01T02:32:00.000-07:00

I went for a good 2 hours jog on the weekend with Marathon Man - www.marathonman.com.au along the coast and cliffs of Southern Sydney. Was a great sunny day and we could see the whales out there making their way up to warm Queensland.

The good news of the week is that the doctor did not feel like putting me under the knife! He told me that all my pain and suffering is due to the simple fact of, ahhmm... age.

Dhooo! Ok, it may also have been the 5000+ km of last years training but taking out stuff would not make it better in the long term and with optimizing footwear and choosing my running terrain wisely I will be out there for a few more years (fingers crossed).

That's great news - I am back in training for a full marathon in October and will be racing one or two shorter events prior to that.

New Challenge and big decision

2008-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Next week I am going to see a knee specialist and then I will fix that stupid knee once and for all because I am getting ready for a new challange.

I signed up for the 'Oldies Olympic Games' - http://www.2009worldmasters.com/default.aspx

In October 2009 Sydney will be host for the World Master Games - that's too much fun to miss and I hope I see more of you out there participating in the biggest sporting event on this planet!

I will be participating in the 8km Cross Country, 10km Road and the Half Marathon!

Happy and save running

Bush Run

2008-06-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

Last week was a bit a washout and my only training was in gym on bike and treadmill - at least I could train and watch Euro 08 at same time :-)
Sunday I joint some runners who signed up for the 100km Oxfam and we did a great training run between Checkpoint 2 and 4 - was great to be out in the bush for a 3 hours run. My knee however did not like the steep up and downs :-( and I do not feel confident that I could keep up a rigorous trainingplan to participate in the 100km run end of August without damaging my knee more. Shame, as I really would have love to take on this challanging team race.
Guess it is a back to my 3 days a week running for the time being....I am still reluctant to put the knee under the knife but I probably only kidding myself here as it needs to be done to be back 100% for bigger adventures ahead.

First race after the desert

2008-06-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

2 months after crossing the finish line in Morocco and 4 weeks into my new training schedule, I lined up for the Great Nosh 15 km trail run in North Sydney. This race is organised by the NSW Orienteering Association http://bennelong.nsw.orienteering.asn.au/the_great_nosh%20(coming%20event).htm and offers a great run in the middle of a 4 million city through stunning forest and scenery.
Last week I was out with a cold and the lack of training was felt after about half of the distance when a steep climb stopped my efforts to a slow jog for a while...my tank was empty and togehter with the steep descents taking its toll on my knee I finished in 96 min. A bit slower then expected for 15 km but it is a start and I have time till my next goal in October.
I hope the weather will hold up for the next couple of weeks so I can enjoy some more outdoor running until my next stop in the Hunter Valley for a team (2 runners) 1/2 marathon. I signed Denis and myself up for this one http://www.huntervalleymarathon.net/ as another preparation run for our race in October.

Updated website

2008-05-19T02:34:00.000-07:00

Have a look at the new layout, visit the Marathon des Sables photo galerie, watch a couple of videos (there will be more soon) and enjoy my race and pre-race reports.

Uli did a great job and updated my website, http://www.run4vision.com/

Please let her know if you like her work -mailto:-luculia@gmail.com

Please don't forget The Fred Hollows Foundation - they still need our support, thanks.

Happy running

Missing the hard training

2008-05-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today I went for my first long 25 km run in the nice, warm Sydney winter sun. Currently I am only running 3 times a week - one moring on the track, one morning tempo work and the long run on Sunday mornings, plus some swimming and cycling in the gym.
A change from my usual 100+km weeks but since my knee is still hurting I am kind of happy that I do not have to push too hard and I am still reluctant to get under the knife and fix the mensicus.
My plan for the rest of 2008 is to run a couple of shorter races and then in October attempt to run a qualifing time for Boston Marathon at the Fitzroy Fall Marathon. The goal is to finish that race in the forsest of the Southern Highlands in 3 1/2 hours.
Let's see if the old bones are holding up till then.
Uli is updating the website and I am trying to get some photos and videos onto the site shortly to give you all a climps of our adventure in Morocco. I am missing the heat and sand a bit and enjoyed watching a few videos on 'YouTube' about or race last month. Check it out - just search for 'Marathon des Sables 2008' and you will find heaps of great and less great videos from fellow runners.

First run

2008-04-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a forced run back to town yesterday, as I left my scooter back at work the night before due to a big night out drinking with work. Was quite please, not only with how the night went but also how I went the next day with a hangover - covered the 11km in just over an hour.

Today I hurt - never had muscle pain after such a short run so guess it is time to get back on track and proper training soon.

Unfortunately the planned 100km Oxfam will be for 2009 - the race sold out within a few hours and before I could get a team of 4 runners together. I will still try to find a spot in a registered team which needs a replacement if one of their runners drops out, but no big sweat if it is not working out in August.

There are a few smaller races and maybe one or two marathon in the 8 months of 2008 to run anyway. 2009 is my wife's year and my running adventures need to be kept on a back burner as I may not be allowed to go too much overboard; nevertheless 'Run 4 Vision' will continue helping The Fred Hollows Foundation and there will be many opportunities to rise money for this Charity in the months to come. I look forward to watching next years Marathon des Sables from the comfort of my home....not.

Have been working hard on my Race Report and sorting out the photos so I hope by end of this long weekend I should be ready with it all.

Happy running

Back in town and not running.....yet

2008-04-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

Well, every adventure has an end. After a long flight back to Sydney I arrived to rain and cold weather - just perfect to start another marathon at work.....clearing up 400+ emails!
Since Dubai I developed a shin splints in my right leg and it took the whole week now to get rid of the pain...I will give my body another week or so just to recover fully before start some kind of training again.
Already have a new project in mind, which I missed out on last year - the 2008 Sydney Oxfam Trailwalk (http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/sydney/). Still looking for two more keen team member - any volunteers? Denis, my local running buddy, and I are planning to start training next week. All for a great cause and I hope we can register pretty soon as this race will 'sell out' very quickly. I believe we should be able to finish the 100 km under 15 hours - or at least that's the goal.
Before starting that new challenge I will work on my Marathon des Sables Report this weekend and make sure you will have very soon access to all my photos as well.
Thanks for the patience - should not be much longer...but I had to un-pack and wash my smelly running gear first :-)

"Recovering in Dubai"

2008-04-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

If you ever have been in Las Vegas - forget about it, Dubai is 10x crazier and getting bigger everyday! What a place - the Tourist Bus only stops at shopping malls and most of them are the biggest in the world! Currently the tallest building is being built (900m - when finished!), over 8'000 construction sites currently worked on, Dubai holds 70% of all cranes in the world! Of the 1.4 million people living here 80% are expats from over 129 countries. The rulers are making Dubai the 'greatest place' in the world by 2015. Currently an airport the combined size of London Heathrow and O'Hara Chicago is being finished (more plane traffice between 1 and 3 am the Sydney during one day; a 'Dubai Land' 3x the size of Disneyland including a hotel with 6'500 rooms (!!) is being built plus the worlds first underwater hotel (ocupancy is 92% for all hotels here - so everyone makes $$'s). Artifical islands symbolising the worldmap for 10 - 20 milllion $ a 'country' (island) and the famous Palms are all being under construction....
I tried to avoid the shopping devil but after 3 days I lost the battle and I am glad Uli is not with me because an additional visit to the Gold Souq would have blown out the Credit Cards! It is a cheap place to shop currently and with expected 15 million visitors a year by 2010 it will certainly stay a shoping paradise!
So, after 4 days 'recovering' and putting back all my lost kg I will be on my way to Sydney tomorrow.....and then start thinking about training for a next adventure (just don't tell Uli yet)
See you soon
Markus

All over :-(

2008-04-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Dear all
Just came from the Prize giving ceremony and a great dream & adventure has come to an end . First of all I like to thank you all for the great support emails I received every night at the camp & through Yahoo emails!
Thanks so much - these mails meant a lot out there in the desert believe me! My tent mates got jealous if I had more emails then them .
Knowing that I am not running alone out in the desert but for a purpose & having all your support made it definetely easier during the hard phases in every stage (and believe me there where quite a few hard phases to get through)
I believe that after my wake-up call on the first stage I managed my water, my energy & my mental strength well over the next 5 stages & I honestly felt that if we could have ran a few days longer I could have improved even more - but then again we did not race for time or position (only about 20 - 30 runners really where in this to win) but we ran for survival & finishing. And finish we did!

The last stage was a 17.5 km sprint & knowing that my parents & Uli are proudly waiting for my at the end I only arrived about 35min behind the winner. Running through the villiage with my blown-up Aussie Hand & having the town people & kids cheering me on was a unforgettable end of an unbelievable week!
Today at the prize giving ceremony I found out that I ended up in 224th place out of 802 starters & covered the 245.3 km in a bit over 38hrs - the winner finished just over 19hrs!! We were told by MdS veterans that we can be proud, as we finished not only the longest but also the hardest & one of the hottest races ever.

I will now spend a few days with my parents & recover my sore feet & knees plus probably but the 4 kg I lost back on again. Taxi drivers in Ouarzazate making a killing right now as about 500+ tourist are in different stages of NOT being able to walk more then 20 meters.

It will take me a week or two to set-up & sort out all the photos & videos I took during my race but I will have them available soon for you to re-live my sahara adventure - thanks for your patience.

See you all soon back Down Under!

Markus

Day 6: 42.2km - Update from Markus

2008-04-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking 4ward to seeing my parents & Uli today & ran as fast as the desert allowed me to. It was hot but a little wind from behind helped me along flying over dunes and dried lakes towards the finish. I am starting to like this race & wish it would go on for a few more days...getting the hang of this stage race. I arrived faster then I thought & Uli & my parents only arrived 5 min later but I was allowed to re-run my finish for photoshots! It was great to have them there - wll keep me going fast 2moro for the final stage of 17km :-(. Yesterday I recovered well & we received a cool can of coke for changing our race number for a new one (for TV). We also had a video presentation of the first 3 days of our race! How those Maroccans fly over those dunes is in-human! 2nite we get a concert from the Paris Opera in the desert - can't wait - it will be an emotional last night in the sahara. An adventure is coming to an end - new friends made, new personal frontiers discovered. Cheers

Day 4: 75.5km - Update from Markus

2008-04-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

The desert was kind to me yesterday - had a great run & enjoyed (almost) all of it. I have not checked my time or place, so refer to darbaroud:com. Scenery was stunning but also very challanging. Imagine Arden Str from Coogee to Bronte - 5x as long/2x as steep/covered with sharp rocks & covered in powder sand; now prior climbing, do not wash for 5 days & go for a 6 hrs run in 45°. Thinking about Uli & my parents waiting 2moro at the finish kept me going strong yesterday. All your support email helps heaps for the moral. I saw big, grown up men in tears for hrs shuffling with blistered covered feet across the desert. I met smiling girls running lighted footed over the hills & tried to keep up with the leader (for 20m) - a great day in the desert! 2day R&R - still people coming in after 30 hrs of walking nonstop! Will try to reduce wight of pack more & hope 4 another good day for the marathon stage 2moro. Cheers

Press Release - Stage 4

2008-04-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

All competitors have got the same thing in mind: the worst is over… At 7 am this morning, 19 runners had given up just before or during the stage. Others kept arriving all through the night, making the finish line a very moving scene. All kinds of reactions could be seen: most often joy of course, but also pride, tears or sheer disbelief to have finally got through. The long line of head lamps guided by a green laser in the middle of the desert made a deeply poetical image, definitely the most striking moment of the race, suspended in time, to remain forever in everyone’s memory. Be they competitors or staff. Needless to say, top runners arrive before nightfall, as did Moroccan competitor Touda Didi, who left her female challengers way behind. Unless something drastic happens, she should finish this stunning week with a well deserved title. She is two hours ahead of the second woman, Simone Kayzer, who will find it extremely difficult to catch up with her, despite her great experience on the MDS. On the men’s side, Al Aqra is only sixteen minutes behind Mohamad Ahansal : not an impossible gap to fill. But the Jordanian will have to run a phenomenal stage tomorrow, and bet on some sudden weakness from the Moroccan favourite - something unlikely to happen from an athlete on top shape, well on his way to succeed his brother. This “resting” day – only truly restful for the lead of the race – allows bodies to have a break, especially after huge temperature variations (35°C difference between night and day) and a course most competitors described as “really complex”. Tomorrow is the classic marathon day, a last test before the fairly easy final stage. Despite tiredness, and a blasting heat, there’s a definite sense of relief on the bivouac, nearly a holiday feel…This stage is a “tour de force” not only for the runners but also for the organisation: everyone has to give its best, especially in the night time. A laser will be guiding the competitors who also have luminous sticks and distress flares. Doctors and race officials are spread along the course in six check points. They will not getting more sleep than the runners, staying up all night, under the supervision of two most useful helicopters. Today more than ever, managing the race is a real challenge. Some competitors plan to run straight to the next bivouac; others will be making good use of the last three check points to get some rest and have a bite to eat.Coursewise, the heat is in two phases: an extremely difficult first one, with a terribly steep climb (25% slope factor), and an easier 2nd one, with flat and straight grounds, an opportunity for the lead of the race to have a bit of a fight.One thing’s for sure though: tomorrow night, all competitors will be champions.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I have yet to receive a mail from Markus today, but looking at the results on the official website, both Markus and Josh completed stage 4!
Congratulations guys! What a fantastic and unbelievable achievement!!!

Phillippa